Fate Stay Night:Heroes Penance
by Uraharaisgod
Summary: A story of both Master and Servant, determined to win a war in the hopes of finding forgiveness for their past.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, got bored again so I thought I'd try an experimental type of story writing, and I figured i'd give it a go using one of my favourite stories that i've seen. I doubt anybody but the most avid of my fans will actually read this, but again, any feedback is welcome!**

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><p>Light filtered through the openings in the stone walls of the stone chamber, illuminating the darkness within. Within the darkness, a single man stood tall, oblivious to the world about him. It was hard to tell the age of this man, his features were certainly young, the skin on his face smooth and unmarred from the wear and tear of a man's life, the small pair of shades he wore across his fair face a pointer that this was perhaps an impetuous youth.<p>

But so much of him spoke a different message; a pristine ironed suit covered his body, melding him further into the darkness with its black tones, a sign of a much more mature individual. Also, the young man had a strange stance, his pose tall and powerful, showing strength of character far beyond what one would assume from his looks. Even now, although he simply stood still, to an observant individual, you could see his posture spoke for him.

Something about this man seemed dangerous. It may not be that he was evil, or hurt others, he could have been the kindest and most gentle man on the planet, but just looking at the way this man held himself gave away an aura that if you strayed too close, you would be cut just from being near him. Maybe the man was unaware this was the case, but he still put out the aura best compared to an unsheathed sword, make one wrong move and he would cut you back a hundredfold.

Any person that was aware of their existence would be able to tell with just one glance.

This man, this child, this young boy, this fair faced individual, whatever he may be, he was a Magus.

In all honesty, this was an unfair description, only tell able by sight from others. The person who stood in the centre of this chamber was a young 16 year old boy, nothing more, nothing less. He attended his second year of school just like any other boy of his age, laughed with people he knew, smiled in the company of those he liked. Amongst those he attended school with; he was known as a lively, incredibly popular friend.

But….this is also a wrong description….

An illusion, a façade, the man who stands here is more worn of life than many, has been through trial after trial which could break the minds of any lesser individual. But under those shades that withheld his gaze from the world was the gaze of a man with incredible mental strength. No sign of what torture he had suffered through his life up to this point was held in that gaze, no sign that he had regretted anything he had put himself through willingly to make it through life up to this defining moment.

The only regret he had in life was what he was standing here now to resolve. He was about to dive headfirst into war, a battle for his life, where he could easily be killed by many others. However, his eyes held no fear, for at the end of this war, if he won, if he made it through this hell by his magic, his strength and his unchallengeable will, he would finally be able to atone for his greatest mistake, the one regret he had in his entire life.

Yes, this war, this bloody war of seven Magi, where each battled to the death with their mighty warriors, the grand heroes of ages gone, Servants. This boy was about to throw himself into the maelstrom in order to win the prize at its end, the miracle, the ability to bring about his wishes, no matter what they may be.

A slow breath outwards, the statue like boy finally made a move, his body moving along with his breath as underneath his shades, the eye's that had been shut in concentration snapped open once more.

"Let's get started."

A soft voice, one that finally shattered the illusion that this was a strong, powerful adult. There was no way a voice like this could belong to a man; it was still filled with the soft tones of youth, none of the ruggedness that came with age. Yes, this was truly a young man, not an adult, a young 16 year old. As his voice echoed slightly around the stone chamber, a bare arm was raised before him.

Odd, the young man wore a suit. A suit shirt and a suit coat, both carefully, almost fastidiously maintained in perfect condition, covering his torso and down his left arm with silk and satin in turn.

So why was his arm bare?

Taking a second look at the young man would reveal the answer, there was no right sleeve, shirt and coat alike had their right sleeves removed. Actually, with a closer look, one could see that both shirt and coat had no stitches at the right shoulder, where the young man's shoulder was bare to the air, along with the rest of his arm. The lack of any kind of stitching mean's that the shirt and coat did not have a right sleeve to begin with, they had not been removed; they simply hadn't been designed with them in mind.

However, this strange fact would have to wait before understanding would come, for now an ethereal light started to fill the entire chamber with its blue glow.

Magic, Magical energy, Mana, Odo, Magic Circuit active, call it what you will, but light of another kind than one that flowed from neither the sun or from electrical circuits within light bulbs started to fill the chamber.

That's strange, magical energy has no light, it is colourless, how can it cause this glow?

Answer; the bare arm the young man had raised, now horizontal in the air. Intricate runes covered the arm, extending from his wrist back, emitting blue light from within the man's body as his magic circuits activated. What was more amazing was how these runes stretched not just from one side of his arm, but encircled it to the other, an entire arm of runes. These runes not only stretched that far, but continued up the arm, the whole way to his shoulder, where they disappeared into the opening caused by the lack of any sleeve for his suit.

Ah, another answer, the suit has its right sleeve missing for this purpose, to give no restrictions for the immense magical circuit that was showing.

Wait, wrong name, this is not just a Magical Circuit. A Magical Circuit is part of the body, almost another nerve within, even if they were activated like the man has done so to draw mana from the air, it still wouldn't explain the ethereal light from the tattoo's along his arm. This is the man's Magic Crest, the indication of his heritage; magic of bygone times inherited and passed down from Magus Parent to Magus Child, ever increasing in size and intricacy as the generation continued. So one must wonder, how on earth did this young man inherit one of such size and intricacy?

Perhaps this is a question for another time, for time is precious and the young man will soon run out of it if he doesn't hurry. It was coming up to 7:00 am, and that was the time when the young man's magical circuits reached the zenith of their power.

Why 7:00 am? Again, a question for another time. Now the light has become intense enough to see by, there are more pressing questions to be addressed now that the chamber is clearly illuminated. The chamber was large and intricate, located in the basement of a large mansion, specially constructed just for this one day. Below, on the ground, an intricate red pentagram had been inscribed, obviously prepared for this ritual.

Wait, inscribed? Wrong, closer painted, this was a pentagram of blood, there was no way it could be inscribed. Frightening as it sounded, a chamber filled with blood, a ritual using blood, there wasn't much to be frightened of, the young man would never dream of using another individual's blood. While his posture was one of danger, the unsheathed sword, the young man had bound his magic and his life by the rules of justice and righteousness, he was not one to cause suffering to another for his own benefit, but one to bring suffering to himself to achieve his goals, for this was his way of penance for what he had selfishly done in the past, what he was here to solve.

Yes, the pentagram was of his own blood. He could have used animal blood, or even donated blood bought with money he had earned by his own efforts, but he felt the need to use his own body for this ritual. Not only would it strengthen the results if he used pure Magus blood for this ritual, but it would create a better link between he and what he was about to summon into this world if it was by his own blood that he had created this magic.

However, there was something out of place in this pentagram, something in its centre. What on earth is an arrow doing there? Ignore it, it's an essential part of the process obviously, or the young man would not have overlooked it. The arrow was perfectly made, bronze arrowhead attached to a reed shaft, feathers of an unidentifiable creature used for its fletching.

Bronze? That's strange, arrows of this day and age don't need bronze, there are far better metals, composites or otherwise that could have been used and natural feather fletching? Wouldn't plastic have been better? Why was this arrow made like this? Why is it that looking at that arrow is strange?

Why does an arrow in that perfect condition, give off an aura of ancient antiquity?

These answers are all held within the mind of the young Magus, but he is concentrated on other tasks. Although his perfect face was still the same as before, a close look would show a tiny tug of a muscle at the corner of his mouth. That was the only outward sign of the immense power that was welling inside his body, trying to rip out from under his control, stabbing his body from the inside with thousands, millions, billions of blades of molten metal.

He's dead, that's the only possible result of what is happening inside his body. The human body was not meant to harbour magical energy; even summoning small amounts of it would cause burning pain on a level that could cripple an ordinary human. However, Magi have trained their whole lives with this pain as a part of them, summoning that much magic would barely be noticeable for a proficient Magus. But even Magus have limits, and those limits should have been clearly surpassed the moment the huge Magic Crest lit up with Mana. Only an incredible mage would be able to hold that much magic and keep his senses intact.

But the man had drawn even greater amounts of Mana from the atmosphere around him, a veritable vortex of magical energy was now drawn within his body. There is no way a man, a boy as young as him, could ever take that kind of pressure and pain, he has broken, his mind has been lost to the pain, his body is breaking down from within, any moment he is going to explode from the suppressed Mana.

*thump* *thump*

But his heart still beats, his body has not given up yet, it is replying that it can cope with this much Mana, impossible as it may sound. But even if his body can, his mind cannot, it is gone, destroyed, the young boy is dead, in mind if not in body.

"Right, that should be enough, time to get started."

IMPOSSIBLE

THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE

How can any mind withstand what he has just gone through?

"I announce, thy body shall be under my command, my fate shall be determined by thy sword. Follow the call of the Holy Grail. If thou wouldst obey this mind and this reason, then answer my call."

But he is alive, he has taken all of that power and brought it to his control, he is still alive, his mind is still intact, even his voice doesn't betray the incredible pain he must be in, clear and strong still as he declares the chant that he has spent nearly two years preparing to utter. Before him, the blood red pentacle starts to glow with an ethereal light, reacting to his summoned Mana and his chant, a vortex of magical energy gathering at its centre, the bronze arrow seemingly lifted within this vortex, glowing with a golden ethereal light, unlike the pure iridescent blue of the Magus.

He has survived the huge amount of magical power he has summoned, and still continues his chant.

….it might be possible….

….Is it that this young man is already broken, before he even started?...

Irrelevant, what matters most is this moment. The young man's senses, now hypersensitive from all the Mana in the air, is listening.

*TICK TOCK*

He is listening to the clock, situated in the kitchen of his mansion, through almost a metre of solid stone above his head, he can hear it. He is waiting, timing himself for the exact moment the countdown reaches the favourable moment.

Again, what is with the importance on time? Magus have a particular time when their powers reach their zenith, for this young man, it is Midnight.

But it is coming close to 7:00 am, how can that be right? Answer; simple, he is not from this country originally. He moved to Japan on his own nearly two years ago, on a mission from the Magic Association, to determine the nature of the Holy Grail War, and to win it himself.

Wait, why on earth was a 16 year old boy chosen for this mission? Stop asking questions, they will be answered in time, be patient. The important part is that it is now time, the young man's features finally change.

A smile.

He has finally reached the moment he has dreamed of for the past eight years, this is where it all begins, he can finally atone for his mistakes with this moment, he will win The Holy Grail War, and he will have his dearest wish granted.

What is his wish?

Time will tell, but he has no time left, he must finish before the clock strikes 7:00. Finally, his neutral voice changes, his calm and strong disposition lost as he smiles fiercely, his eye's seemingly blazing beneath the shades that he wears as he reaches his right arm towards his left.

An unnecessary movement, he doesn't need to do this but wants to. Wait, why is he wearing a leather glove? Isn't it obvious? With a fluent movement, he uses the arm covered in the huge Magical Crest to pull the glove free of his left hand. There on the back of his hand, is a welt, a mark of some kind cut into his skin not by his hand, but by the magic that has chosen him. He started wearing this glove two years ago, always keeping it on despite even rebuttal from the teachers at the school he attended, all for one purpose.

Now nobody will question why it is he wears a glove on his left hand, they have spent two years with him and his slight but unique quirks, the two unbroken rules that he will never remove his left glove, and the rule that he will never remove his shades. With these two preparations, he can hide his identity far easier now he is a Master, everything else could be done with adequate preparation, but his eyes and his command seal were the two that could never be covered up.

His eyes? Irrelevant for now, we will get back to that later.

His personal preparations now complete, he shouts out the last words to the air before him, the magic within him rising to an almost unstoppable force as he shouts out the last words.

"Make on oath here. I am the one who shall become the virtue of all afterworld. I am the one who shall lay out the evil of all afterworld. Thou art Seven Heavens clad in the Three Great Words. Emerge from the ring of control, guardian of balance!"

*DONG*

7:00 am

Perfect timing, as he shouts the last word out, the bell rings, announcing the final moment of the summoning.

The chamber explodes with magical backlash, the young man realised a moment too late that perhaps he had summoned more Mana that he had needed for this summoning. He thought that it didn't matter, any excess would be swallowed by the ritual he was using, given as a gift to his new familiar. He hadn't counted on the fact that the familiar he would summon would already be at full strength, and would not need extra power from him.

Darkness covers the chamber once more as the light from his Magic Crest deactivates, all except one tiny rune, pulsing above the vein in his wrist, automatically activating to try and heal the one who owned the rune. While Magic Crests cause intense pain for their user on activation, every Magic Crest has something within their construction to protect the one who has inherited the knowledge of their forebears, and it was this magic that was trying to repair the injured man.

The young man weakly raises his head, a line of blood already trailing down from his scalp where he had smashed into the stone wall. But his smile is still present, as his efforts have been rewarded. In the centre of the chamber is a seeming whirlpool of magical force, centred on the creature who kneeled within the pentagram. This pain is nothing to the man, faced with the reward of his efforts before him.

The creature stood, revealing that it had a human frame, standing tall and powerful. The figure has something in its hand, barely see able through the whirlpool of Mana.

It is the arrow

The arrow that is so deeply tied to the being that is within the centre of the magical pentagram

Yes, this arrow was important to him, the Servant, for it was this arrow that decided his fate that long ago.

Yes, this is the arrow that killed him.

It seems his servant has a sense of humour, it is laughing, laughing as it looks down at the arrow held loosely in its hand. It is not a cruel laugh; it is not a laugh of scorn, nor of anger. It isn't even an empty laugh; it seems the Servant is genuinely amused that it has been summoned by the very weapon that killed him.

Suddenly the light seemingly dims around the Servant.

Impossible, the light is shone through the darkness from the only possible source, the opening that lets natural sunlight in, there's no way it can weaken.

It also cannot be something the Servant is doing; this Servant does not have the ability to manipulate light.

It seem's the Servant has noticed it, but how did he notice it by looking at the young man? This question filters through the young Magus's thoughts.

The Servant shakes its head as the magical whirlpool lessens, walking forward with a strange clinking, muttering-"Ah crap, seems my new Master over did it huh?"

The Magus slowly realises the clinking is from the armour the man wears, covering his body with minimal amounts of leather, he can barely see leather vambraces on his powerful arms, a leather cuirass, leather greaves, the Servant is covered with minimalistic leather armour. The clinks come from the buckles that hold these together.

This armour wasn't designed for defence, but offence. Minimal armour means minimal weight and ease of movement. This wasn't designed to take direct heavy hits, but to allow a warrior to fight flexibly, and run easily. The young Magus cannot see any sigils or easily noticeable designs on the armour, it's easy to tell its user comes from ancient times, where technology had not advanced enough to make anything more deadly than arrows, making up close combat more about speed than about power, but besides that, there are no clues to his Servant's identity.

"Hey, you alive down there kiddo?"-A powerful voice asked as the Servant stopped before his master. The voice was strong, not authorative, but definitely the voice of a warrior that was assured of his skills. This man was no leader, he was a warrior pure and true, a man who would have lead the charges into battle from the front ranks, not command an army from the rear. What surprised the Magus as he tried to look up through the fading light was how young the man looked.

He had expected a powerful, strong veteran. He already knew which heroic spirit he had summoned, after all, that was what the arrow was for, but he didn't expect the young face that peered back at him. The warrior was definitely older than he was, but not by very much, if the Magus was to guess, he would say the Servant probably wasn't older than 20.

He knew the records that this Heroic Spirit had died at a young age, but he never imagined this young. But still, he didn't waver in his thoughts, if even half of what this Heroic Spirit was capable of was true, then he had succeeded, he had drawn what could easily be the greatest spirit he was capable of from the summon.

Suddenly the Servant swayed on the spot. No, the entire room was swaying…no it was merely the Magus's perception. He had hit his head harder than he had thought, this was not good. He planned to prove to this servant straight from the get go that he was his Master and more than strong enough to be one, but now it looked like he was about to pass out from exhaustion like a weaker Magus would have.

However, the Servant surprised him, kneeling down before him as his hands gripped his arms with an amazingly powerful grip, a slight concern on the Servants face as he tried to speak. "Hey h_d it t_g_th_r! I d_d n_t g_t sum_n_ fo_ my Ma_er to d_e from exha_st_n be_o_e we ev_n g_t sta_t_d!"

But it was futile, he couldn't even hear the Servant's words properly, with a barely audible sigh, the Magus fell forward onto the Servant and lost consciousness.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Again, this was merely an experiment, I wrote this story as it flowed into my head, including how I postulated my own plot, I even left in any mistakes I made and explained and changed as the writing went, sorry if reading this gave anybody a headache!<strong>

**If I do continue with this, then know that the O.C Magus and the Servant he has summoned aren't part of the original story, I have swapeed out one of the Heroic Servants to put this new Hero in, and swapped out a Master for the same purpose, these two are part of the original 7 Magus and 7 Servants, I have simply pulled one out.**

**I wonder can anybody guess who this hero is? It's a pretty prominent hero, well maybe not a hero, but certainly a well known one.**

**Anyhow, see everybody next time, on either my other stories or this one if I continue it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, here's chapter 2 of the story! Unfortunatly, the strange writing style that I used for chapter one could not be invoked for this second chapter, so I ended up returning to my previous writing style, hope nobody minds too much!**

**Well, hope you guys enjoy the new chapter!**

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><p>"Tch, I didn't expect that!"-the Servant complained as his new Master slumped forward, unconsciousness claiming him. The Servant had high hopes at the start, the summoning had been done perfectly, the Magus was obviously skilled and powerful, he could feel from the connection the summoning had given him to the Magus that the young man still had Mana to spare even after summoning a Servant of his strength.<p>

However, he had sensed some kind of backlash when he had appeared, but his attention had been on the artefact he had found back then; the humour that the arrow that had caused his death was used to bring him back to life had been a bit much for him. By the time he noticed his new Master's condition, the Magus was already moments from passing out.

"Ah well, at least he's a strong one, I think I would have just killed myself first if it had been another worthless man to serve."-the Servant complained good naturedly as he stood away from the slumped down Magus. As the Servant stood, a flicker of light caught his eyes, cuasing him to glance down at the Magus's bare left hand, shining brightly as the Command Seal took form upon his hand. That caused the Servant to tense slightly in irritation, a magic of absolute command, certainly something he didn't want to have to deal with.

Still, it was the cost of being summoned to this world for his chance at a miracle. It didn't matter all that much, so long as he got the Holy Grail, he was fine with working for another, it was certainly a better deal than what he used to have to work under in those ancient times.

'Pig headed bastards butting heads for shitty reasons' the Servant cursed off hand in his thoughts. He didn't really care enough to hate them, he had gotten what he wanted in return for his services, but they were certainly good examples of the greatest scum of his time.

"Well…"-the Servant muttered, cracking his neck tendons as he got his muscles flowing. Turning away from his Master, he decided he would give his new premises a good look over. If the place he was staying in was interesting enough, he might even be charitable enough to take his new Master out of this dingy stone room and into a better place to wake up. "Best stay inside whatever hovel this Magus owns until I know how the world works in this century…"-the Servant muttered to himself, before starting his way towards what looked like the steps out of this stone chamber.

_This may sound surprising, but most Servants must learn to adapt to the timeline they are summoned within. Servant's only ever have memories of the time before they died, all other knowledge is forgotten upon summoning, death, and re-summoning. As thus, it is the duty of the Master to adjust their Servant according to the timeline they live within, especially if this Servant has never before been summoned into this world after its death._

However, the amused musing's of the Servant was cut short as an arrogant shout pierced the darkness. "Servant!"-a strong voice suddenly called out from somewhere amidst the shadow's he had been about to climb to exit this *tomb*. Instantly the Servant was on guard, his instincts telling him to be wary of whatever owned that powerful voice. At the same moment, instinct alerted him to a powerful killing intent in the actions of whatever was atop the stairs. As such, in a split second decision, the Servant leapt away from the stairs with mind blurring speed, speed that was impossible for any human of this age to attain. He was barely fast enough, a loud crunch of breaking stone rang throughout the chamber as the bottom step of the stairs he was about to stand upon exploded into dust, shards of stone flying everywhere.

As the Servant landed kneeling, light coalesced around his right hand as he summoned forth his weapon, one of the weapons he had fought with throughout his life taking form once more, pulled out of the annex's of time as a Noble Phantasm for him to wield, his sharp eye's picked up the light that glinted off of whatever had struck the spot he had been about to stand upon.

A beautifully crafted sword sprouted from the stone, this elegant blade arrogantly used as a projectile weapon just as a greeting strike by the figure yet to reveal itself. It was distasteful to the Servant, even if he had never seen this sword before with his eyes, the magical power that thrummed from the blade told the Servant that this was a Noble Phantasm as well, and no such weapon should ever be treated so disdainfully.

The Servant frowned now, if a sword that beautiful and powerful was thrown just as an opening move, whatever Servant that was descending the stairs, the metal ringing from each step indicating he was in full armour, then there was no doubt that this Noble Phantasm he could see was the Servant's only weapon on hand. "It seems the dog already knows its place, kneeling in the dirt before me!"-the voice called out, foot step after footstep ringing as its owner descended into the darkness.

The Servant's instincts could tell the arrogant confidence in this man's voice was the real deal, and it concerned him slightly, he was facing a person who could throw a weapon of such power and legendary status as if he was merely throwing a stone to get his attention. Standing up as if to defy the words of the enemy before him, his eye's pierced the darkness as he watched his foe's descent.

Golden hair, bright and elegant.

Blazing red eyes, filled with scorn

Golden armour

As the metal ringing from Gilgamesh's footsteps stopped, he stood now on the floor of the stone chamber to appraise the Servant before him. "Well well, I can't say how disappointed I am."-The Golden Servant said in disgust as he sneered down at the warrior before him. The reason was clear to the other Servant, as those red disdainful eye's looked down in disgust at the weapon he held by his side to defend himself.

_A sword, a plain, inelegant, short, leaf bladed stabbing sword, a Xiphos (1). It was perfect as far as swords go, but that was it. This sword could not be recognised by the Golden Knight, and that was what disgusted the arrogant man. This sword was not amazingly elaborate, it was not decorated, it seemingly didn't even give off any magical radiance to signify an ability or importance. Therefore, if all these are true, and the Golden Knight cannot recognise it, then this sword is not uniquely famous, this is just the plain sword of the hero, a sword meant for killing, made by human hands and forged by human hands, only ever to accomplish human deeds. This is no Noble Phantasm worthy of being used by a Heroic Spirit, in fact this weapon disgraces the name 'Noble Phantasm', if it had not been that the Servant before him was wielding it, he would have dismissed such a blade as trash on the street._

The golden servant's features twisted in disgust at it, this was a sham, he knew the chances that he would meet the King of Knights in this round was next to none, but to say that the new Saber (2) was this disgusting weakling, it was almost enough to make him throw up in disgust, and this Servant was what Kotomine Kirei wanted for himself?

The Servant clad in leather armour moved slightly, positioning himself between his Master and this new threat, making sure his new Master was concealed behind him as he faced Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes. Of course, there was no way the new Servant would know that, and Gilgamesh had no intention to give his name to such a disgusting creature.

"So, you're here for a fight already huh?"

"Ho?"-Gilgamesh said in mock surprise, perhaps he had misjudged this Saber, his voice didn't hold a trace of fear, nor did it sound like an attempt at a bluff, or resignation to death. This Servant was facing him without fear, not even slightly cowed by his presence. Not even the King of Knights had been able to face him with the same composure, and she had been incredibly powerful even if she was no match for Gilgamesh.

However, Gilgamesh was here at his Masters behest, and while killing this new Saber for his insulting tone sounded like it might be interesting, Kirei had wanted the Servant for himself to act as his pawn for this war. While he had no need to follow Kirei's orders, he knew from experience that Kirei's plans always had rather interesting results, so it would be amusing to see what the fake priest planned to do.

"No, while I would happily kill trash like yourself, my business is with that Magus that is snivelling…"-Gilgamesh started to say, before realising the man behind Saber was unconscious already, blood flowing down his face from some injury not clear to see. "Ho, you attacked your own Master?"-Gilgamesh asked in sincere curiosity, surprised that any Servant would be ridiculous enough to do something so suicidal.

However Saber didn't bother to answer the question, instead hefting the short sword that was resting in his right hand as he said-"Does it really matter? What's your business with him?" Gilgamesh snorted derisively, almost refusing to answer, before relenting-"It is not my business with such trash, but my Master's business. It would seem that he wants another Servant to himself, and to remove any…*outside* intervention. If you're after the Holy Grail, it would be in your interest to hand him over, while it sickens me to my core to think I will have to work alongside a dog like you, I can stomach my disgust long enough to obtain the Holy Grail."

"So, I will be working alongside you to get the Holy Grail with your master instead?"-Saber asked, an eyebrow rose in mock curiosity. However, Gilgamesh shook his head while laughing, before a sneer settled across his features, arrogantly replying-"No, you're going to be given the worthless orders like the trash you are, while I simply watch with my Master and do whatever I want, there's no way I'm going to lower myself to work with a dog like you! But, if you do accept, you're practically guaranteed the Holy Grail, even if it is boringly easy."

"Well, that settles it then!"-Saber replied coolly. Gilgamesh couldn't hide the disappointment in his features, he had wanted to kill this worthless Servant from the very moment he had seen him, but since Kirei wanted to play out the War in this way, he had decided to sit back and watch those plans unfurl. Stepping forward, aiming to pass the Servant in front of him by and grab the bleeding Magus on the floor, Gilgamesh disappointedly said-"Well then, I will put off killing you until my Master-"

"If that is all your offering, then I will simply kill you here and now."

Gilgamesh paused in his movement, only able to look up at the ridiculous Servant in disbelief, he couldn't believe that this trash had been so stupid that he could utter such a ridiculous statement, Gilgamesh couldn't even reply, he was that shocked at how ridiculous this pretentious Servant was acting.

However, ignoring this lapse in the Golden Knight's concentration, the Servant suddenly kneeled down, an arm going underneath his Master's own as he continued-"Or so I would like to say, but if we fight here, I don't doubt my new Master will get swept up into it and die, so I'll give you a counter offer." With those words, the Servant stood once more, lifting his unconscious Master with him. Watching the Golden Servant coolly, he replied-"How about we pick this up at another time? I don't plan to get eliminated any time soon, so you can come back for a better re match at another time, I can't fight with all of my strength in here."

Silence filled the chamber between the two Servants, only punctuated by the rough breathing of the man the leather clad Servant supported. Servant watched Servant in total silence, Gilgamesh's arrogant attitude pouring out in waves as he considered what to do with the creature before him, his arm slowly rising into the air, third finger and thumb of his gauntleted hand pressed against each other. Across the chamber the other Servant considered his chances of escaping here with his Master alive.

In his mind, he could see every route he could use to get around the Servant, leaping above him in the limited height of the chamber, dashing past his unguarded sides, even leaping to the wall and running along that to keep maximal distance from the golden servant. But his instinct told him in turn that each and every route was impossible.

While his eyes told him there was no way the Golden Knight could stop him, after all he held no weapon, and no matter what, he knew there was no way the man before him could possibly be as fast as he was, their builds were just too different, their armour's different weights, even the magical presence he could feel off the Golden Servant, while overbearing, would never make up the difference between the two in pure agility aspect.

But every route he could see to avoid his enemy entirely ended in death. His mind told him his foe couldn't do it, but his instincts saw his death in every attempt to avoid the Golden Knight. No matter how well he moved, no matter what the difference in speed, his foe would defeat him if he tried to run. So that left one last option, to smash through the centre. However, the Servant's bearing, while weighed down by his Master, was still to Gilgamesh's eyes, confident. Surprisingly, his instincts told him he could manage the last option.

_This is the leather clad Servant's greatest skill. This Servant already had the greatest natural instincts possible, able to avoid any attack with ease that he could see, something that had earned him the title of *Undefeatable* and *Invulnerable* while he lived, but he had one more talent, earned through years of dedicating his life to nothing but battle, the greatest skill that had earned him impossible victory after impossible victory, leading the smallest force possible to overwhelm much greater forces. He had learnt to *see* the flow of battle._

_This ability, earned through pure effort and skill, meant he could see every action he could take in battle, and see every action his foe could possibly take in turn. Combined with his amazing instincts, he could get the upper hand against any foe in close range, as long as there was a definite chance he could succeed in his action, his instinct would protect him enough to see that action fulfilled perfectly. It was this skill that had truly made him unbeatable in life; it took the intervention of the gods themselves to see this skill of his overwhelmed, leading to his original death._

He didn't know what abilities his foe could actually use, but his instincts told him that any move made except charging straight into the jaw of the beast would meet with his instant defeat. His instincts said that defeating the foe before him was currently impossible, but escape was possible. His enemy expected him to run, and was prepared with whatever abilities he had to skewer him if he tried to avoid him and run to the stairs behind the Golden Knight.

However, his foe did not expect him to attack head on, especially now he was supporting his Master. To any foe, this move would be suicidal, not only does the leather clad Servant only have one arm free to attack and defend, carrying his Master severely inhibited his movements in battle, trying to fight the Golden Knight in this condition would be impossible.

And that's exactly why it will work.

With this fact assured, the Servant could stand tall and confident against his enemy. Victory was impossible here, but if he attacked head on, avoided the counter strike and charged through his foe to escape, it was possible, he would make it. It would be very close, but he was fast, his experience said he could make it, and it was the only route his instincts didn't scream to him he would die on.

Gilgamesh only watched him with mild curiosity, holding off answering the Servant's question as he tried to figure out just what the trash before him was playing at. He knew Kirei's request was to bring the Master from the Magical association to him, preferably alive than dead. He originally had every intention to do so, after all Kirei had been interesting company during the last ten years, and he owed it to at least make a small attempt to follow his request.

But this situation seemed interesting, the Servant before him seemed to be truly confident that he could beat him head on. And it didn't seem to be an empty bluff either, he had watched as the Servant's eyes had slightly moved, quickly darting in every direction, before settling once more on the Golden Knight, the Servant's face not showing a hint of despair or fear, his eye's showing a warriors confidence as he faced him. Even if he decided to go along with Kirei's plan and refuse the Servant before him, the Servant already had a plan to either defeat him or escape, and something in the look he was receiving told him that the Servant could do it to.

"Interesting, you really do think you can beat me, don't you?"-Gilgamesh answered in a mocking tone, watching his foe to see what reaction he would get. However, the leather armoured warrior gave none, as if the answer no longer mattered to him, as if he was going to go through with whatever plan he had made as if he already knew what would happen next, his posture remaining battle ready, his sword ready to strike in hand.

That moment decided it; Gilgamesh lowered his arm down without activating his Noble Phantasm, bursting out with raucous, scorn filled laughter. If his opponent had shown any sign of change, relief, fear, anticipation, any kind of change in reaction to his words, he would have attacked. But the Servant had offered none, and had won some measure of slight respect from the Golden Knight.

"Hahaha! It seems there may be something interesting to see this time around after all! Last time it was Saber who interested me as well!"-Gilgamesh almost shouted out amidst his raucous laughter. The enemy still didn't relax his guard, instead his leg muscles tensing slightly, prepared to take this opening in the next few seconds if the Golden Knight didn't agree to his condition. After another few seconds, barely milliseconds from the Leather cladded Servant from attacking, Gilgamesh finally said-"Okay then, it seems you've won your chance, mongrel! Mah, it's not like I really owe *him* enough to follow his orders if I find something more interesting anyway, I'm sure he can put up with this result."

Suddenly, the foe glowed with a golden light, before the armour about the Golden Knight dispersed, now replaced with a more casual appearance that the leather clad servant couldn't recognise. Of course, this wasn't too hard considering that his knowledge of clothing consisted mainly of toga's. Along with the armour vanishing, a shaft of light shone about the sword that had been lodged in the stone step, before vanishing in turn. Taking this to be a sign that the battle was over, the Servant's sword also disappeared, the Xiphos vanishing as he knelt once more, placing his master back onto the ground.

Even as he straightened back up, eye's seeking the Golden Knight, the other Servant was already striding arrogantly away, almost swaggering as he made to leave the stone chamber. There were many questions to this situation the Leather Clad Servant wanted answered, but instinct told him that if he tried asking anything of the arrogant man before him, he would take back his words and attack. As such, he could only watch as the enemy walked away, his back melding into the darkness as he vanished from sight once more up the stone steps.

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><p><strong>Well, that's the chapter done and dusted! I wanted to do an early inclusion of Gilgamesh instead of a later one, so I had him appear now instead. I decided not to include Kirei for the moment, since Kirei's appearence would have lead to a lot of problems, so working with Gilgamesh only was a lot easier for plot reasons.<strong>

**Also, while I made out that Lancer could do something against Gilgamesh here, the thing is, is that Gilgamesh will still be the final boss of it all, as such I depicted Lancer as instinctually knowing every choice but one resulted in instant death, and even then knowing that outright victory was impossible, only a succesful retreat was able, and only because they are in a closed stone chamber.**

**Also, from now on I am going to post new stats for Lancer as they appear in the footnotes of each chapter. Also, Lancer's stats for weight and height were just copied from my own weight and height, since if I went with my Heroic Spirit's recorded (in myth) height, he would be 13 ft tall, or close to 400cm tall, since that's pretty unrealistic to work with, I remade him in my own height and weight, which is definately more realistic.**

**Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the chapter, see you all next time! (As always, reviews are welcomed from anybody, be they positive or negative critical feedback, although flamer reviews will be ignored and consequently deleted (Such as anonymous reviewer Dragon's flame comment))**

**(1) I was first going to say that the sword was a Gladius, but then I realised my mistake. While a Gladius would have been fine, since there's very little difference between a Gladius and a Xiphos except that a Xiphos has a slight leaf like design, it would be very bad to have a Greek Hero wield a Romanic named sword. As thus, I did a little research, and found the much more suitable Xiphos. Also, while he had a famous weapon, this Hero was not famous for his sword, it's recorded in history that he's incredibly skilled with swords, but that's it, his sword is not famous or named.**

**(2) Sorry if this confuses anybody, but I always write things in P.O.V style, in fact, even using Gilgamesh's name is a break from what I normally do, but I'm getting sick of typing *Servant* every five seconds, so I'm using his name. As such, while the Heroic spirit here is in fact Lancer, I have dubbed him as Saber until things are cleared up in the story, since Gilgamesh believes he is Saber, he is called Saber until clarified.**

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><p><span>Servant details<span>

Servant Class: Lancer

Master: -

True Name: -

Sex: Male

Height/Weight: 193cm 85kg

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

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><p><span>Statistics<span>

Strength: A (A+)

Endurance: C (A)

Agility: A+

Magical Energy: B

Luck: A+ (D)

Noble Phantasm: To be announced

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><p><span>Class Abilities<span>

Magical Resistance: B

Nullifies all magic that requires less than three verses. It is difficult to hurt him even using great magic or ritual magic. This is boosted due to divinity and origin from the age of ancient magicks

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><p><span>Personal Skills<span>

Instinct: A+

The ability to almost "feel" the best course for oneself during combat. At this level, it can be determined almost as precognition. Almost complete elimination of obstacles to hearing and feeling, and ability to predict close combat movements based on experience and on knowledge of opponents weapon. This directly translates into LUCK status

Divinity: B

Strength of one's god like nature. The more godlike blood possessed, the higher this stat becomes.

Charisma: C (A)

Natural talent to command an army. At C rank, increases morale of all allies in combat. A rare skill, incredibly rare to find at A Rank, but due to lack of interest in taking any command, has been penalised to C rank and now acts as inspiration to allies about him in battle. Can change the momentum of entire wars if used correctly.

Eye of the Mind (True): B

Capable of calm analysis of battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. So long there is even a 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning.

Vengeance: A

Incredibly rare skill, selectively used against one target, when active, boosts STR and END by one to two ranks, while reducing LUCK to D rank. Servant will only target the target of Vengeance, and becomes unable to be commanded by Master except through Command Spell until Vengeance time effect has run out or until target of Vengeance is destroyed. At A rank, all other Personal Skills and Class Abilities drop by one Rank and Eye of Mind (True) is deactivated while under effect of Vengeance. User of Vengeance can still identify friend from foe and still protects Master, although priority is in destruction of target.

Noble Phantasm - To be announced


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, new chapter up again, hope you all enjoy! Quick warning, it starts with a flashback, so dont be fooled into thinking you clicked on the wrong story, have fun reading!**

**P.S I only just decided on the name for the O.C Magus as I was writing this chapter, yep, took me three chapters before I actually got around to naming the main O.C, fun huh?**

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><p><em>The door opened to the bedroom as the young boy pushed on the door. Inside the room was the childish decorum and toys that revealed the owner to be a young child itself. Toy planes and car's laid scattered at random intervals across the carpet, forgotten by their owner. The curtains to the room had been drawn, and a strange noise could be heard from the room's occupant, sobbing. In the middle of the small bed sat a boy even younger than the concerned one who had just entered, his legs drawn up to his chest as he sat in upset, tears streaming down his face as he cried.<em>

_The boy's head snapped up at the noise of the door opening, ready to shout once more at the person who entered, before recognising the boy at the door. One could clearly see the reason of the boy's tears, shown by the bright red handprint on the young child's face, left by an adult who had punished him for his deed's and left him crying in his bedroom. However, even though the young child had seen that the boy who had entered had not been his parent, his eyes were still full of anger, not only at the parent who had punished him, but at his older brother too._

_The elder brother understood why without even having to ask, there was only one potential reason why their father would have gotten angry enough to even physically punish his son. He knew it was partly his fault, and he was also surely to be reprimanded later, but his concern for his brother came first._

_Without being bid to enter, or even welcome from the hostile inhabitant, the elder boy walked into the room, quietly closing the door behind him as he waded between the piles of broken toys on the floor, irrationally damaged by the irate childish brother before him. Even before he managed to make it to the bed, the young child almost growled out "Go away!"_

_However, the elder brother ignored the tone his younger brother was taking with him, and continued to walk over to the bed, still maintaining his concerned silence as he reached his brothers side. Without warning, the child seemed to snap, his arm wrenching back as he grabbed a pillow behind him, screaming once more "GO AWAY!" as he hurled the object at his brother. He didn't stop or block the object, getting hit right in the face by the pillow thrown in anger._

_Once more, the young child curled up into a ball, hiding his face completely out of sight from his brother this time. Once more the elder son waited patiently for the child's fit of anger to end._

"_Why?"_

_It was a quiet question from the child, thick with anger, resentment and hurt. The elder boy just sat still, waiting for his brother to continue. Sure enough, although he didn't raise his head, the boy continue to ask quietly "Why is it Tou-san always liked you more than me…? Why is it he never did anything with me…? Why is it nobody ever told me about it…?"_

_The elder brother sighed slightly; his eye's flicking down now to his own bare arm. He had made a mistake in telling his brother this secret, even though their father had told him not to. Although it wasn't visible to either son now, the inscription of runes hid beneath the skin of his forearm was the heritage he had received from their parents, a heritage that was meant to be hidden from the youngest son, the Magic Crest. However, the elder son loved his brother dearly, and when the boy had asked him this question about their father always ignoring him, he had told him the real reason why._

_The child now wiped an arm across his face, trying to wipe the tears away as he quietly said-"I thought of asking Tou-san about it, why he hadn't told me anything, but you said he wouldn't answer me. So I thought maybe it's just I can't do it…"_

"_But I tried it, just like that book you showed me, and although it really hurt to do it, I can do the same thing as Nii-san can, so why! Why did he hide it from me?" The young child cried out, much to now his older brothers shock. A few weeks ago, when he had revealed that secret, he showed his brother that book just once, and he had already taught himself how to utilise one of his Magic Circuits?_

_The two brothers both belonged to a powerful family of Magus, so it would be impossible to consider that the younger child wouldn't also have inherited the powerful Magic Circuits of the bloodline of Magus. However, the Magic Crest, the inheritance of magic that belonged to the bloodline of a Magus could only ever be passed down to one descendant, to split it between two would have halved the magic. As such, it was tradition that only the eldest would receive the instruction of Magic, any other descendants would be either raised without its knowledge, or in the case of the young boy here, if they also inherited a large amount of Magic Circuits, they would be offered up for adoption to another family of Magus._

_As thus far, thanks to the obvious connection of love between the two brothers, and the words of their mother banning him from doing so, the father had taken the former of the two possible routes, keeping the boy in the family but raising him unaware of Magic. The elder brother had taken on the rite of inheritance to give his younger brother a more peaceful life. However, their father had always ignored the young boy, not even giving him the pleasure of having a father. The elder brother had done everything he could to look after his brother, but it wasn't enough to fill the hole left because of their father's actions. In the end, he had told his brother the truth, under the oath he would never tell their father._

_But the younger brother had broken that oath, under the hope that perhaps if he had shown the potential to use this magic, perhaps their father might love him back, but the results were clear from the mark on the young boy's face. Now, the elder brother didn't know what might happen next, now that the boy had shown an interest in magic, he may indeed be put up for adoption rather than remaining in this household. _

_Shaking the thoughts from his head, the elder brother calmly replied "He only did it to protect you, it's only because he did not want to burden you with knowledge about some-"_

"_STOP LYING!" the child suddenly screamed, now unfurled from his protective ball as he angrily shouted at his brother, tears streaming down his face. "Tou-san never cared about me! He won't even look at me, how can you say he did something nice like *protecting* me? He's always been lying to me, hiding things from me, and now you're lying as well! I HATE YOU!" With this burst of outrage, the young child jumped off his bed, picking up the toy's he had only recently broken and now throwing them at his elder brother, screaming insults at him. The elder brother had no choice but to leave the room under the storm of painful objects._

_Unbeknownst to the younger brother as the older boy left the room, several broken toy's now bouncing off the door as it closed behind him, there was another individual standing silently by the doorway in the landing as the elder boy left the room. The elder boy saw him with surprise as the taller man watched him with a stern expression. "Tou-san…" The elder brother said quietly, his words barely audible over the rain of impacts on the door. The man simply turned silently, walking away without a word._

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><p>Light pierced through his eye lids harshly as the young man regained consciousness. Slowly, the man raised a sore arm upwards to his face, dragging a hand over his features slowly as if to wake himself up. 'It's been a long time since I saw that dream' the young man thought sadly as he recognised the events from his past. However, he quickly dispelled his thoughts as he lifted himself up, realising at the same time he was on a much softer surface than before.<p>

A quick glance about the room revealed he was in one of the many bedrooms in the mansion he inhabited, although which one he couldn't tell since the room was bare of any recognisable items. There were many such rooms in this building his father had provided for him two years prior, and he rarely used more than three of the many rooms in this western style mansion. He still never knew why he needed a building of this size for himself, but he guessed it was just part and package of belonging to one of the richest magical families around. He would have been better off in a small apartment, far better off in fact, this building was a mite suspicious for a person to have moved into on his own, even if he could claim he came from a rich background.

'I guess I can't change what's happened' the young Magus thought to himself, before pushing himself up from the soft sheet's he lay on. Instantly a wave of tiredness washed over him, threatening to send him back down upon the sheets he laid upon. He knew instantly why, this was the result of the magic drain caused by his contract with the Servant he had summoned, however it was a bit more than he had predicted.

"That's odd, I was pretty sure my calculations for how much of my_ Odo_ the Servant would take were right… maybe he requires more because of being one of the Knight classes?"-the Magus murmured as he rubbed his eye's with one hand. Then it hit him. He was rubbing his eyes. "My shades!"-the Magus cried out in shock, before quickly throwing his gaze about the bedroom he was in, desperate to find them, to cover his eyes once more. It wasn't dangerous to not have them on, but he had made a practice of keeping his eye's always hidden from the world at large, after all how could he explain to a non magus the colour of his eyes? (1)

_Mystic Eyes, a magic held within the eyes of Magus. A certain type of magic that presents itself whenever a mutation occurs in the Magic Circuits about a Magus eye. These mutations are often caused by creating something akin to a Magic Crest into the eyes of a Magus in order to create the induced effect. There are many classifications of the magic such eye's would be capable of casting varying in effect according to the crest created in the eye. The rarest of these are naturally occurring Mystic Eye's, not created by an artificial Magic Crest, but inherited._

Luckily, the search didn't take too long; they had been casually dropped onto a bedside desk nearby. Reaching out with a sigh of relief, the young Magus placed them back over his eyes once more, hiding the unique colour irises from sight. While these eyes weren't active in normal situations, they still were a rare shade of colour even without Mana running through the Crest in his eyes. With this resolved, the Magus finally managed to rise from the sheets he lay on.

'I guess he must have taken me out of the basement then' he noted as he raised an arm to lightly touch his scalp, wincing slightly as he determined just how bad the damage was. Luckily, it seemed nothing more than a superficial graze; it was just the concussion from hitting the stone so hard was what knocked him out. Taking his hand down and looking at his fingertips, he noticed the slight trace of blood caused by agitating the wound. With a sigh of annoyance, he walked out of the bedroom.

After a quick wash in the bathroom, carefully checking his torso for any other wounds and luckily finding none, he proceeded throughout the mansion in search of his Servant. As he guessed, it didn't take long to find him. What he was surprised by was the state his new Servant was in. As he walked into the mansion's living room, he found that the fireplace had been turned on, and his Servant was lounging on one of the sofa's, concentrating on a small block of firewood from the fireplace he was paring with a knife he must have found in the kitchen.

From what he could see, his first guess was right, the Servant couldn't be older than 20, he would hazard a guess and say the Servant was about 18 by the looks of him. Medium length blond hair fell messily down the Servant's back to reach the leather armour he still wore as his clothing. From what he could see, the Servant was a battle hardened combat, his bare forearms looked like they had been chiselled out of stone itself, not large muscles but lean, a sign of a combatant who gained his strength from charging across the field of battle, not from one who trained his body in relative safety and therefore developed muscles too large to be of use in true combat.

The features that he could see of his face were sharp, almost hawk-like, tensed in concentration as he continued his task, ice blue eyes that looked like they could pierce your soul with their gaze focused upon the object that was in his hands. Something about his features hinted an almost bestial instinct in the man's gaze, enough that just by looking at him concentrating on the object in his hand even felt slightly intimidating to the Magus.

Covering his moment of intimidation by clearing his throat, the Magus walked into the room, noting to the seated Servant "I'm surprised; a warrior like you has an interest in carpentry?" The Servant's eyes didn't stray from the object in hand, carefully cutting another sliver of wood from the object as he replied "I got bored of waiting for you to wake up, so I found something to amuse myself with."

The Magus pulled an annoyed face as he realised the floor and sofa all around where the Servant sat was now covered in wood shavings from his administrations, the Servant showing a complete lack of any care as he destroyed the expensive leather and dirtied the expensive carpet. The Servant wasn't quite what he had expected him to be, he had guessed that the title *Servant* wouldn't literally depict the role between the two of them, after all the being before him is a Heroic Spirit, summoned from another age to fight in this war, but neither had he expected this, a warrior of a by-gone age lounging around in his living room, doing something as trivial as this.

As the Servant finished his last cut on the object before him, revealing a rather badly made wooden horse, he dropped the knife on the table before the sofa he sat on as he threw the small creation into the fireplace as well, leaning back into the plush seat before casting his gaze up at the Magus before him. Just like the Magus had thought it would, he felt as though that one look pierced right through him, once again slightly intimidating him with the intensity of the man's eyes. However, the Servant surprised him as he pulled a cocky expression as he looked up at the Magus, his face now smiling as he asked "I guess you're my Master for this war then? You got a name I can call you by, or are we sticking with *Master*?"

'Great, he's a smartass…' the Magus sighed internally. He half guessed that would be the case with this particular Heroic Spirit, but he had hoped at the least the Servant would be civil. With that hope quickly flying out of the window, the Magus tersely replied "I'm pretty sure the Servant is meant to give his class and identity first"

"Tch, great, your one of *those kind* of Master's huh? Those formal stickler's eh?" The Servant replied brazenly with an exasperated sigh, not noticing the tick that formed on the Magus's face at being referred to as a stickler. However, the Servant replied "Since you summoned me with that artefact, you already know who I am; you can call me Lancer since that's my class for this war."

"Lancer huh?"-The Magus murmured. He knew the chances of summoning this Hero as Saber, the strongest Class, was next to none, but he had half hoped it might have been possible. Still, he didn't let it get him down, the chance that anybody else had been capable of summoning a servant of equal renown as this one was next to none. 'Well, the Einzbern Magus might be capable of doing so, but the all but worn out Makiri wouldn't be capable of it. The only other wild card is that Tohsaka, but I doubt she could have gotten a suitably powerful artefact by herself to act as a catalyst for a powerful Servant.'

"Hey, you spacing out over there?" Lancer suddenly asked, interrupting his concentration. Shaking his head, the Magus replied "So, your Lancer then? That makes you one of the three Knight class Servants?" Leaning back into the sofa once more as he closed his eye's Lancer grudgingly replied "I wouldn't call myself a Knight, Knights are chivalrous idiots who are only out for good deeds, I'm a Warrior, plain and simple."

"Anyway, we still haven't completed our contract." Lancer suddenly said. "Contract? But I have already summoned you, the contract is complete." The Magus replied in a slightly confused voice. Lancer only laughed in turn, before saying "Yeah, but since I'll be fighting on your behalf, I wouldn't mind an actual contract between us, as two individuals rather than through that magical process, just go along with this whim of mine."

Suddenly, Lancer lithely jumped up from the sofa, softly landing on his feet with an almost cat like grace that belied his fighting frame as he stood tall. Instantly the Magus was struck by two things. The obvious thing was that Lancer was pretty tall, he was nearly a head above him in height, now looking down at his Master. The second fact was that Lancer's armour did not suit being a Knight, just like he said.

Once again, the plain leather armour stuck out as strange. Knights are always armoured in resplendence, heavy armour designed to protect the Knight and inspire others around them as a bright figurehead, a model for others to aspire to. Lancer had none of that aura about him, his armour was plain and unadorned, one could almost call it cheap, minimalistic covering his body, leaving multiple bare areas where he could easily be harmed. However, Lancer emitted instead an almost predatory aura, one that you could associate with a hunter more than anything

As the Magus looked up, once more he was struck by that intimidating piercing stare, no longer tempered by his smile or his cocky attitude. He was right, Lancer looked like a predator, his hawk like features giving his stare a dangerous attribute, he couldn't help but be intimidated by the man before him, he felt as if this man could kill him in an instant with ease, and without any mercy.

"I have answered the call of the Holy Grail as the Servant Lancer, I ask now, are you the one who will be my Master?" Lancer suddenly spoke, his words carrying a dangerous weight all of a sudden. It wasn't authoritative, but it was powerful. However, the Magus summoned his wits to himself as he breathed out slowly. Raising his own left arm, he turned the still bare arm so that the reverse of his hand faced Lancer, revealing his Command Seal for him to clearly see.

With this act, he drew in his breath softly, before lacing his words with power, his words almost ringing as he forced his own Mana into his voice, as if he was pledging the words to the being before him.

"My name is Kintaro Sousuke, I have summoned you through the powers of the Holy Grail to fight in this Holy Grail War, do you acknowledge the call of your Master?"

Lancer smiled almost wolfishly in return to the words, before bowing his head, his body dropping down as he knelt on one knee, his right fist clenched tightly as he almost punched it into his leather chest plate, his own words ringing out "I acknowledge your call, Kintaro Sousuke! From this moment onwards, my sword is your sword, my shield is your shield, my spear is your spear! In turn, your enemies are mine to destroy, your will is mine to carry out, your life is mine to protect, and your wish is mine to fulfil! By this oath, I do hereby swear my allegiance to you, so long as you bear the will to fight, and your mark as my Master!"

As he finished these words, Lancer slowly stood, his head still down with his fist over his heart. As he once again reached his full towering height, his head snapped up for the Magus to see, his eye's closed as a massive grin broke across his features, saying now in a more relaxed tone "Well that's the formal stuff out of the way, now have you got anything good to eat in this place?"

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><p>"You know, for a person who supposedly doesn't see himself as a Knight, you take your oaths quite seriously." Kintaro said out loudly from where he was preparing lunch in the kitchen for the both of them. It had taken numerous moments of confusion between Lancer and the Magus before the information became clear that he had been unconscious for over four hours before he awoke in the spare bedroom.<p>

"And for a man, you cut a weirdly appropriate look in the kitchen, isn't that supposed to be a woman's role?" Lancer cut back with a laugh from the dining room where he was sat by the dinner table, chair leaning dangerously back on two legs as the Servant leaned back in the seat. However this didn't get the reaction the Servant had hoped as Kintaro just shrugged, replying "I've gotten used to it, been living alone for two years now."

"Psh, you need to get yourself a good woman or three to do it for ya!" Lancer called back as he started playing with one of the dinner mats in boredom. Kintaro nearly tripped over his feet at the Servant's words, very nearly dropping the plate he had been holding, spluttering back "How the hell does that work! And if you haven't forgotten, polygamy isn't exactly a supported ideal these days!"

"Really? Tell me, in which era exactly did this world go to the dogs while I was gone?" Lancer muttered back, surprised obvious in his voice at the idea that men could only have one woman to themselves in this time period. Kintaro deliberately chose to ignore that comment as he finished preparing the food.

"Ho? Doesn't look half bad!" Lancer complimented as his eyes widened greedily at the plates Kintaro brought over. It only took a few minutes to lay the table before both men were seated on opposite sides, Lancer surprising the Magus as he said "Itadakimasu!"

Lancer was about to dive into the food before he noticed Kintaro's wide eyed look. "What? What's wrong?" Lancer asked as his hand hovered over the plate, holding a pair of chopsticks with an odd familiarity. Shaking his head slightly in bemusement, Kintaro asked "How do you know Japanese eating etiquette and how to use chopsticks?" Lancer almost growled as he realised he was going to have to explain this before he could eat. "It's just stuff I know, we Servants are given basic knowledge of the current world and our locations whenever we are summoned, hell I'm speaking in Japanese, and I never learnt that language while I was alive, now can I eat already? I haven't eaten anything in over two millennium!"

Before Kintaro could even say otherwise, Lancer immediately started on the food with explosive gusto. The Magus could only roll his eyes in exasperation at the sight of the Servant, half wondering if even the large allowance he received from his father would be enough to support both him and what seemingly was the bottomless pit that was his Servant.

Before he could even get halfway through his own food, the Servant was already finished, letting out an absurdly loud belch as he once again resumed leaning his chair back on two legs, patting the stomach area on his leather armour as he said "Phew that hit the spot, felt I was going to starve if I didn't get anything earlier! Got to say though, if you're as good at your magic as you are at cooking there's hope for our little endeavour yet!" Kintaro almost choked on his food as Lancer casually described the Holy Grail War as a *little endeavour*

"Where is that confidence coming from exactly? There's a decent chance there could be stronger Servants than you out there you know!" Kintaro replied back as he struggled for air. However, Lancer just barked back with laughter again, saying confidently "I'm the Servant you summoned, naturally, I'll be the strongest one in this war, right?" Kintaro could only stare dumbly at the Servant, earning another round of laughter from Lancer. The Magus tried to cover up this slip up by muttering "Your way too arrogant you know."

Suddenly the air froze, Lancer's seat crashing back down on to four legs as his features lost their cheeriness, once again returning to that almost predatory fierceness. Surprised, Kintaro wondered had the Servant taken serious offence to his words, but after a few moments of silence, broken only by the ticking from the clock on the wall, Lancer said "Speaking of arrogant things, a Servant came looking for a fight earlier."

"What?" Kintaro asked in surprise, now realising the reason for Lancer's fierce expression. Lancer just nodded slightly, before continuing "I don't know how he knew it, but he was after us specifically. Whatever you did to piss somebody off in this place, you did it to the wrong person, that Servant was insanely strong, I wouldn't have been able to beat him with the conditions as they were back there."

"That's not possible, nobody should even know that a Magus known as Kintaro Sousuke is in this city, I've lived here in secrecy for two years, it's impossible to figure that somebody knew…" Kintaro said quietly, trying to mentally go over the only people who could have known. Lancer just shrugged, before explaining "Whoever it was, they knew you were a Master, and they knew you're not from around here, *Outside Intervention* the Servant said."

'That means whoever it was knows I am tied to the Mage's Association, so that means whoever it was has contacts in the Clock Tower… well that's problematic, I guess my rank as a _Noble Color_ was a bit too famous, going undercover was never going to be a perfect transition, but to think I was found out so easily, enough that they even knew where I lived, just who the hell would know all that?'

Shaking off this unease, Kintaro asked "What happened exactly?"

"Long story short, when you fell unconscious, a Servant appeared, demanding that I handed you over to him, offering in return the chance to work with his Master in order to obtain the Holy Grail. Fortunately for you, I didn't really like his offer, so I refused, instead offering him the chance to fight me instead but at a better time and place than the one we were in. After a standoff between the two of us, the Servant seemingly decided to leave things as they were and retreated." Lancer briefly explained.

"*Leave things as they were*? So he ignored his orders from his Master, is that possible for a Servant?" Kintaro asked. Lancer suddenly fixed him with an intimidating stare, as he slowly answered "Although we co-operate with our Masters, if we don't like an order, we can easily chose to refuse them, but to do so risks that the Master will force us to obey with the absolute command. If that Servant had been ordered to do so with the Command Seal, then he would not have had a choice in the matter, the Command Seal enforces our absolute co-operation."

"Take for example, if a Master was to use the Command Seal and declare "Kill yourself", a Servant would immediately commit suicide, regardless of whether he wished to live or not, that is the so called Command Seal's power over us. As such, it's no surprise to learn that if a Master's Command Seal's ran out, that a Servant would likely kill his own Master." Lancer declared darkly, his piercing gaze watching Kintaro.

The Magus raised an eyebrow at that, before replying "I need to win this war, so alienating my Servant in that fashion would be unthinkable. I have no intention to use the Command Seal unless there's a good reason, after all, absolute enforcement doesn't necessarily mean it can only be used against your Servant, I know how it works, I can utilise it to enable you to surpass your own limit as well, and even teleportation is possible through the Command Seal."

Lancer smiled slightly at this, replying "So you do know the REAL way to use that Command Seal huh? Anyway, back on topic, he ignored his Master for some reason, but we can expect a second encounter with that Servant sometime in the future, I don't know when, but my bet is that his arrogance will mean he won't approach you silently, you will know when he's coming for you. If that time comes, you must run and leave the battle to me alone."

"Hah? You think I can't protect myself? I may not be a Servant, but don't go underestimating your Master, Lancer." Kintaro replied. However, Lancer suddenly growled at this reply, surprising the Magus as he replied "It's not as simple as that! I don't know what that Servant is capable of, but my instincts tell me one thing for sure, Kintaro Sousuke will be able to do nothing before that Servants power, no Magus could! Nothing short of a Servant, or one who had the matching powers of that Golden Knight could do it, and even then I doubt your average Servant would be able to last more than a minute with that Golden Knight. You would die before you could even try anything, even I would not be able to protect you if you remained on the battlefield with me, you would only hamper me in that situation."

The Magus could only sit silently as Lancer finished his rather condemning report of their newest enemy. Leaning back in his chair also, Kintaro stared listlessly at the ceiling, before asking "What chances do you think you would have against that Servant?" Once again, silence filled the room as Lancer was deep in thought, before slowly replying "I don't know, I won't know until I know all of his abilities, but just on pure gut instinct, if I was able to use all of my Noble Phantasms, I think I might stand an even chance with that Golden Knight."

"Able? All?" Kintaro asked in confusion. Lancer nodded slowly, before replying "Situational, I cannot fight in a closed area, I would need a completely open and even battlefield, and enough Prana to utilise them all evenly, so I can't fight in an exhausted state. If all those conditions are met, I think I can match him. When we were down in that stone basement, I had no chance, not enough space to utilise one and I might have killed you utilising another, I could only use my sword while I was down there, and that is my weakest Noble Phantasm."

"…I'm just wondering, but out of curiosity, how many Noble Phantasms do you have?" Kintaro asked slowly, but Lancer finally cracked his wolfish grin at that question, answering "Who knows? You might get to see them all if this war is gonna be any good!" With this reply, the tense atmosphere brought about by talking about the enemy Servant finally broke as Lancer laughed loudly at Kintaro's reaction.

"Well, with all that out of the way, what's our plan, oh Master?" Lancer asked. Kintaro stood in reply, grabbing the now empty plates as he returned to the Kitchen, replying loudly "Nothing yet." It took a few seconds for it to register with Lancer, before his smile cracked slightly, replying "What?"

"You heard me, nothing yet." Kintaro repeated as he started cleaning up in the Kitchen. However, he jumped loudly as the voice roared from the dining room "THE HELL YOU MEAN NOTHING?" Kintaro had to wait a few seconds for the ringing to disappear from his ears, before calmly replying "The War hasn't officially began yet, there are still numerous un summoned Servants, so for now we can use the time to get you used to the city and the places you will most likely be fighting at, and to scout out the potentials that I know of who could be Masters."

The Magus could have sword he heard numerous muttered insults from his rebellious Servant in the other room, but chose to ignore them. However after a while, the Servant seemingly calmed down, before saying "Right, how many potential's do you think we can check out?" Kintaro hesitated to reply, before he quietly said "One?" Sure enough, he was deafened once more by the roar from his rather annoyed Servant.

* * *

><p>The wooden floorboards creaked underneath the footsteps of the individual who swaggered into the Church, calling out "Kotomine, oi where are you?" It didn't take long for the golden haired man to spot the clothing of the Priest as the man walked out from behind the main Dias. Smirking at the sight, the Servant silently followed the fake priest into one of the back rooms of the church, before saying "You still haven't destroyed that thing that's watching you inside the church?"<p>

Kotomine merely smiled eerily before replying "Of course not, it is only a familiar set to watch me and my actions, it cannot detect or hear anything other than my own movements or words, it is quite harmless to you and the other Master's alike, neither it nor its Master will be able to see anything other than me, that is why I have allowed it to remain there, it's only significant purpose is to alert it's Master of when I declare that the Holy Grail War has begun. Of course, it will be irrelevant if you succeeded in your task, but I'm guessing the lack of a half dead Magus in your possession would indicate you chose to do otherwise?"

Gilgamesh merely snorted derisively as he replied "You sure have some strange interests, being so happy that a Master has taken such initiative already, and as for your question, I decided that things might be a little more amusing for myself if I let the bugs writhe for a bit before I squash them."

Kotomine merely shrugged, his strange smile not slipping as he replied "If that is your interest then we can let them be for now, just so long as the Mage's Organization does not learn the true nature of the Holy Grail, I am content. In fact, this may be more preferable, just as you said it may prove more…entertaining…to simply watch the young Magus for now, it won't be much longer until all seven Servants have been summoned, and I was as thus far disappointed that there seemed only one clear contender for the Holy Grail (2), it would truly be a disappointment if that girl easily won the entire war without effort."

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow at this comment, asking "Ho? So you've changed your mind? You intend to bequeath the Grail to this other worm if he can make it through all the others?" Kotomine's smile spread even further as he replied "Indeed I shall, while his wish seems like a mere trifle, if he can indeed prove himself worthy enough of the Grail, then I shall of course bequeath it to him, it shall be most amusing to see if he will stain himself black in order to achieve his dearest wish. Since young Rin has no real wish of the Grail, only the desire to own it, I see now it would be far more amusing to see the reaction of this other mage if he sees the true taint of the Grail, this… Kintaro…"

Gilgamesh laughed coldly at the Fake Priests words, mirthlessly declaring "Kotomine, you never cease to surprise me!" Kotomine merely smiled, replying "I try my best, King of Heroes. Now, I have a church to attend to, so I shall leave you to amuse yourself howsoever you wish." Once again, Gilgamesh just laughed scornfully as the Priest left the room, his eerie self-satisfied smile not once leaving his features.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's a wrap! Now, important stuff, Kintaro has a unique power for himself that appeared in Tsukihime. Now, the thing is, the power he has really doesn't fit in right, I kinda twisted the rules to let him have it, my only defence is that I actually haven't seen or watched Tsukihime, I only found references to this magical power in the Naruverse Wikia. Also, for future references, Kintaro is an *Average One* in his magical nature, the same nature as Rin (While Sakura's nature is Imaginary Numbers, or Shadow nature), although the seriously huge Magic Crest he has also stores numerous different magic's that do not relate entirely to his natural affinity.<strong>

**Now, I have made numerous references to him being from the Mage's assosciation, and now I have given him a particular rank. Once again, I only know this rank thanks to that wikia, so that's the basis for me defending my choice in calling him a *Noble Colour* rank, which is a unique rank only given to those who have incredibly rare Mystic Eyes. In comparison, Rider's Mystic Eyes would also earn her the same *Noble Colour* rank, albeit much higher than the one I plan to give Kintaro (hers would be Noble Colour:Jewel if I am right)**

**Also, while I have yet to choose exactly what day it will be, the time in the FSN timeline is currently before Rin summons Archer, just as a quick reference!**

**Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the chapter, no real action this time, as always, please rate and review, see you all next time!**

**(1) For example, Ilya's red eyes are a sign of Mystic Eyes, she has the Mystic Eyes of Binding, the most common of the Mystic Eyes. **

**(2) Kirei has yet to learn of Shirou's existence by this time in the storyline, he only knew of him after Rin took him to visit Kotomine, as such his words are based off of him not knowing of Shirou's existence.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey all! New chapter up today, this chapter doesn't have any serious plot development to it, it's just to fill up the last of the day and to explain some stuff and help pad out Lancers and Kintaros personalities, but I hope you enjoy reading anyhow!**

* * *

><p>"I just realised we may have a complication, Lancer…" Kintaro said quietly to the air about him. No sooner than the Magus had taken five steps outside of the building where he lived, he had paused, staring at his now raised right hand.<p>

He had taken the liberty to change into a light t-shirt and jeans combination before they had left, knowing that wearing the usual clothes he used as a Magus would only draw attention to him. Outside of those Magus clothes, everything he wore for his casual clothing was short sleeved, since he didn't like to cover the arm where his Magic Crest lay, only his school uniform broke that rule, blazer and long sleeved shirt necessary to fit in with the other students, even if he didn't enjoy the feel of material over the Crest.

Of course, the Crest was all but invisible in normal situations, even if a person had ran their hands up the arm where it was inscribed, they would only feel the normal muscles in their normal form, no hint of the runic symbols to touch, but still he didn't enjoy covering it, call it useless pride but he always wore his clothing with his right arm bare to the world. That and the strangely tinted shades he wore, but that was an entirely different story, those were necessary, alongside the now necessary leather glove adorning his left to cover the intricate Command Seal's on the reverse of his hand.

Back to the problem at hand, a voice seemingly called from thin air, only audible to its Master's ears as the now spiritual form of Lancer reluctantly asked "What's up this time?" The Servant was for some reason in a tetchy mood, ever since he had been told there were no clothes for him to borrow so he would have to remain in spiritual form until further notice, the Servant had seemed rather snappy in his responses. Why on earth his Servant had wanted to stay corporeal Kintaro had no idea, but it had taken a promise to obtain casual clothing suited to this time for the Servant to temporarily stop the complaining from Lancer.

'What a troublesome partner I ended up with…' Kintaro mused, before finally replying "Since I now have a contract with a Servant, I forgot that the connection between the two of us will inevitably bleed Mana into our surroundings. Up to now I've been able to conceal my magical signature from the Magus who live here, but like this I can't any longer."

"Hah? That can't be much of a problem surely? You're only losing a fraction of your Mana, would anybody really notice?" Lancer replied, brushing it off as nothing important, but Kintaro replied "It's far worse than that, a fraction of my total Mana is more than enough to be noticed. If we use standard units, I'm bleeding about 25 units of Mana into the air right now."

"And…that means what? Sounds like a low number to me." Lancer asked from the air. Kintaro could only shake his head in despair at his servant, forcing himself to tub his temples to ward off the incoming headache from frustration at his Servant. When he had assured himself there wouldn't be an onslaught of one, he finally replied "It means I'm bleeding about the amount of Mana as your average Magus has in TOTAL here! (1) While the Tohsaka Magus gives off about the same amount regardless Servant or no, she would be able to tell my general presence out easily. (2)"

"Eh? Your average Magus has gotten kind of weak then, so how accurately would she be able to detect you?" Lancer asked in reply. Kintaro seemed to think it over for a minute, before he suddenly started walking down the hill towards the cross section, replying over his shoulder "If I deliberately disperse the bleeding Mana as much as I can, it will be about a 300m radius about me, so she will know there is a Magus here, but as long as I remain in populated areas, it won't be possible to tell who. Of course, that all goes out the window if I'm forced to use magic, that will make me stand out as much as if I was playing with a foghorn."

Lancer could only wonder what the hell a foghorn was, but followed silently as the Magus made his way towards the intersection where the bus stops were.

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><p>"Whoa, this is quite a busy little spot isn't it?" Lancer commented from thin air as Kintaro stepped off the bus and into the crowded Shinto bus station. "Well, what do you expect? It's Sunday and we are in the centre of the business district." Kintaro grunted in reply as he was forced to weave in and out amongst the crowds. Lancer wasn't slowed in the slightest as he followed in spiritual form, easily able to follow without interference. The Magus could almost imagine the Servant's cocky grin as he said "Hey, you sure you should be talking back here? You're going to look like a nut job who talks to himself if you do."<p>

Kintaro could only growl quietly in reply, partly because the Servant was enjoying winding him up, and partly because the Servant was right as well.

After about ten minutes of negotiating the crowds, and nearly receiving a suitcase in the gut during one surprising moment, the Magus was finally able to enter a side street for a second to get free of them. Hidden from view of the street by a large dumpster, Kintaro was finally able to talk freely.

"Well, can you sense any Servant's nearby?" Kintaro quietly asked the invisible Lancer, but he could almost sense the Servant shake his head in reply, saying "Nope, nothing here, but then again I'm not all that good at detecting other Servants, each of us have a different effectiveness and way of detecting others, for example Archer's beady little eyes can see for miles, but he can't sense presences unless close, while Caster can easily detect presences for miles using her magic, but can't easily define which Servant they are. I can, for lack of better words, smell the spiritual presence from other Servants, but that's not too easy when it's so busy with commoners around here."

Kintaro half wanted to laugh at that comment, but he guessed from Lancer's tone that he was actually being serious about his ability to detect spiritual forms through scent alone, it wouldn't surprise him if that was the Lancer Class speciality, seeing as how predatory he already felt his Servant was.

Lancer seemed to shift uneasily nearby as he continued "I can tell one thing though, this land has a lot of spiritual lines underneath it, the spiritual presence in the air is thicker than average here, I'd hate to go near any temples in this land, they would probably have a palpable presence about them that even non Magus could detect."

"You might be right about that…" Kintaro replied slowly. He already knew that there were multiple spiritual ley lines around this area, but he hadn't considered the strength of spiritual presence that would be around the city in general. Regardless of that or not, there was always one place in this whole city that he didn't like approaching, the Ryuudouji Temple. It was definitely a sacred place, probably a nexus for the spiritual power from the Ley Lines. The natural Mana in the air over the temple was a lot more concentrate than anywhere else in the City, it was the perfect place for a Magus, and as thus he had always kept his distance from it. The only thing he knew about the temple was that one of the boy's in his school lived there.

'Perhaps we can check it out another day soon…' Kintaro thought, but he kept this opinion to himself, only responding "Well regardless, it's best to prioritise, so the most important thing to do today is to make sure you're well aware of what area's may become the battlefield in the upcoming days. I doubt that any real Magus would be mad enough to take a battle into the city, but since the Holy Grail's designation of Master's hasn't always been perfect, it's possible an unaware civilian with chance traits of a Magic may be chosen"

"Hm, guess that's possible." Lancer muttered, his tone obviously displaying his displeasure with the idea of having to fight in a heavily populated area. Out of the side of his eye, Kintaro could see a stone being kicked away from the invisible Servant, before Lancer let out an aggravated sigh, obviously bringing his attention back to the situation at hand as he said "Right then, we'd best get to it then!"

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><p>It had taken three hours to completely cover the entirety of Shinto's sprawling streets, all the way from the bus station, and through all of the shopping districts, even with the brisk pace that Kintaro had set whenever he managed to find a break in the crowds, the light was starting to dim as the sun started it's descent to the horizon over the city. Now, he sat in a small coffee store that had newly opened in the area, nursing a large hot chocolate drink between his hands to warm them from the now chilly air that had descended outside to spite what had been a sunny day up to that point.<p>

"Well, except the park, that's the majority of the streets around here covered, so are you satisfied?" Kintaro said out loud in a strangely annoyed tone as he regarded the person who sat opposite him at the table with an expression that also voiced the annoyance reflected in his words. He wasn't the only person looking though; nearly every other woman who had happened to have visited the store during the time he had stopped here with his Servant had also been unable to stop themselves from giving surreptitious looks of wonder towards the other person at the table.

Long blond hair now falling down over a light blue short sleeved shirt, loosely hanging from his obviously muscled frame, the leather armour no longer proudly on display as Lancer once again flashed a satisfied smile, drinking idly from the cup of greek coffee he had ordered earlier. Once again, the Magus wished he hadn't given in to the Servant's demands to get him casual clothing, Lancer's incredible features had given him a pronounced enough effect of awe when he had first seen them, but Kintaro had never expected the sheer seductive effect that Lancer's almost exotic look would have on every passing woman and lady now that he had taken his corporeal form for the whole world to see.

Now he bothered to give a second look, he realised Lancer truly did have an incredibly envious body, Kintaro was no slouch, in an effort to perfect his magical skills, he had also trained in physical skills as well, earning himself a reputation as the fittest sportsman of the year at his high school. His body also reflected this hard work and effort, well honed muscles covering his entire frame as well, but to nowhere near the effect that the incredible life of battle and war had given Lancer his body of steel. Combined with his incredible height and exotic features, and it was no wonder that women weren't falling over just at the sight of the Servant in casual attire.

'Judging from that smug look on his face he knew that was going to happen…' the Magus couldn't help but think as Lancer laughed lightly, this simple motion once again drawing adoration from the young girl behind the counter nearby, who had all but given up on just staring dreamily at the Servant. However, Lancer ignored the look as he shrugged, answering "Well, I've just about memorised all the important areas and all the places where the *action* will likely go down, so yep, all's good!"

"More importantly…" Lancer suddenly added, leaning in closer over the table suspiciously, his piercing eyes now lit with a mischievous glow as he conspiratorially whispered "What's up with the woman of this era? I like the more *open* clothing, but it seems the general quality of looks have dropped, and I have all this information in my head about something called *Kimono* being Japanese clothing, but I haven't seen even one yet!"

Kintaro seriously felt like shouting at the Servant, here they were preparing for a war and this servant, this hero of another era of existence, was planning skirt chasing! "Was that the only reason you wanted casual clothing, Lance?" the Magus asked exasperatedly, half knowing the answer already, and receiving a self satisfied nod from the smug Lancer to prove it. They had already had this conversation regarding keeping matters secret in general conversation, and Lancer had suggested shortening his name in general conversation to *Lance*, which given his rather distinct difference in features, could be more easily explained as a foreign name than *Lancer* could be.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Kintaro quickly countered "I'm going to say this once, and once only, you can follow whatever *fancies* you might have if we have any free time, but if you go near any of the girls from my school, I will deal with you myself, we can even make this one a *command* if you wont!" Lancer's eyes widened slightly at the prospect, before he surprised the Magus when he settled on a sly expression, seemingly leaning in even further as he asked "So, that means you have somebody in mind at your school?"

"Wha-!" Kintaro couldn't help but blurt out in surprise, unable to help it as his face suddenly started to burn crimson. That hadn't been what was on his mind, he simply didn't want his cover blown in such a dangerous environment where there would likely be a high concentration of Master's present. However, Lancer's sudden challenge had caused several pretty faces to flash in his mind, one prominently repeating itself in his mind. Quickly trying to push away the indecent thoughts that came to mind, Kintaro couldn't help but shout "D-Don't be an idiot! T-That's not why-"

"Ho, so the first time I see you lose your cool is when girls from your school are involved, interesting…" Lancer slyly replied before Kintaro could even finish his hasty attempts to deny this. He could do nothing in reply, unknowingly doing a good representation of a fish as his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, his mind unable to think of a quick enough comeback to try and deny this. Lancer just hummed slightly as he took another drink from his coffee, winking slyly at his distraught and embarrassed Master.

"So, does this girl have a pretty name to go with a pretty face? Or, is she the type with a sexy name for a sexy body?" Lancer continued, proving his title to be true as he practically speared his master with these embarrassing questions. Kintaro couldn't help but have his eyes widened as the last question in particular caused a new set of images to filter through his mind, his active imagination easily creating numerous images he had never seen in real life. His face burning furiously now, Kintaro could only stutter "T-There's no one like that! I just don't want to get a bad name in my school for your lecherous actions!"

However, Lancer wasn't convinced, even though he did lean back as he obviously realised he wasn't going to get an answer, he was 99.9% convinced his Master had either a girl hidden somewhere around, or had a woman on his mind. Shrugging with indifference, although his still smug smile said otherwise, Lancer simply said "Hai, hai, so the top rule is to keep away from your hunting grounds? Got it, but that means the rest of this city is mine!"

Kintaro sighed loudly in response to this, although his mind wouldn't confirm if this was from exasperation like he hoped, or from relief. He couldn't even start to comprehend what was going through this Servants head, he didn't even know if such physical relations were actually possible for a Servant.

He had heard that one of the potential rituals for Prana transfer was possible between Master and Servant by following through on such intentions, but since he had no intention to mess up the ritual to the point of needing to do so, he didn't care for that, hence why he hadn't aimed for a female Servant, he wanted an independent and strong warrior to fight alongside, not a helpless burden who was too attached to their Master by such strings, after all no matter what, such a relationship could only ever end in sadness. Servants were not of this time era, and once the Holy Grail's power to keep them in this world vanished, so would the Servant.

'Well, I might be capable of keeping a single Servant in this world, but they would only be at human strength and I wouldn't be capable of using magic again with such a drain on my reserves.' Kintaro thought off hand, but he had no intention to follow through with this.

After all, if he succeeded in this war and obtained his wish, he would probably sacrifice his rights as the Magus heir of his family.

"Oi, Sousuke!"

Lancers words suddenly pulled him back to reality with a snap. As he looked back up at his Servant, he realised Lancer had once again returned to that piercing expression of his, his joviality lost once more for some reason as he watched the Magus. It looked for a second like the Servant had something to say, but the Servant stopped, the tense air once again breaking as he simply said "I've ran out of coffee."

* * *

><p>"Well, that was a fun day!" Lancer said as he stretched his arms out wide, yawning loudly as Kintaro cleared away the table from the dinner they had just eaten. Once more, they had returned to the empty Sousuke Mansion, their attempts to have Lancer memorise the city layout successful. As he started to wash up in the kitchen, Kintaro shouted back over his shoulder "So, what's your opinion of Shinto?"<p>

"Hah, not a very ideal battlefield in that city, I would say it's most advantageous a battlefield for the Masters of Archer and Rider, if they go by what we would generally expect of Servants. While I could definitely adapt to fight in the city, I would be hard pressed to fight either of those two classes there; it would be like challenging them on home turf. Also, if we ended up fighting in daylight when there are others about, it would be incredibly dangerous for you if we encountered Assassin in the city. Fortunately, it's advantageous turf for me if we fight either Saber, Berserker or Caster, there's very little natural Mana in the environment for Caster's magic, lots of obstacles to put between me and Berserker, and I'm far more agile than any Saber could hope to be, so it's ideal if we have to fight any of those three."

"Hm…" Kintaro just hummed to himself as he took in Lancer's words. However, Lancer quickly added "This is assuming all Servants act as their roles perfectly, and are of equal strength. In that regard, I have another advantage in that I was summoned by a strong master, so I have access to my full power, and I also have other advantages I could use. In all, the only one I'm worried by is that Golden Knight we encountered earlier, I'd guess he's probably the strongest Servant that has been summoned bar yours truly."

"How come you hold this guy in such high regards? You told me you didn't fight him…" Kintaro asked with some slight concern, the fact that any Servant in this war would be enough to intimidate this incredible warrior before him very surprising. However, Lancer could only reply "Instinct. I've learned in life to never doubt it, and mine is telling me that Servant is dangerous, he almost feels like he's pretty close to being a God in comparison to any other person I have met, and as a Demi God myself, that's something to think about." (3)

"A potentially divine being, casual disregard for Noble Phantasms or weapons in life, supreme arrogance, golden armour, golden hair, red eyes…" Kintaro listed these properties to himself, diving into his own memories as he tried to identify who or what this Hero was. Several came to mind, but he couldn't think of how to tell which one he could possibly be. He hoped to god that it wasn't the last one that went through his thoughts, his body involuntarily shuddering at the prospect of having that particular Heroic Spirit as an enemy Servant.

"Did he give you any other clues? Any possible phrases that might be taken as a way to identify him?" Kintaro asked over his shoulder again as he resumed his chore. There was a minor lull in the conversation as Lancer must have mentally gone through what had happened that morning, before his reply came "Nope, nothing at all, although he did say something about a *Last time*, so my guess is he was summoned once before for this war."

Once again, Kintaro cursed internally the lack of information the Clock Tower had given him. As one of their representatives in this land, he had been given full access to the records regarding the current information about the Holy Grail War, but it was severely lacking, hence his mission being to discover what he could about the war, and to bring back the Holy Grail to the Clock Tower for further study.

"No good, the records only included the names of a few of the summoned Servants, namely the ones summoned by prior Magus agents of the association and none of them match, we never had records regarding the Servants of the Makiri, Tohsaka or Einzbern Masters, and very few of the rogue Masters information…"

"…wait…"

"…you say… he mentioned a last time?" Kintaro asked slowly, surprise obvious on his features now, although Lancer would not have been able to tell in the other room.

"Yeah, what's so important?" Lancer replied. Kintaro didn't reply, instead reaching into one of his pockets and retrieving a small notebook. As he did this, he glanced about for something to write with, answering his Servant "The general thesis postulated by Lord El-Melloi II indicated that Servants cannot remember anything past the time of their death in history, even if they are summoned twice, they will lose the memories each time, the records of their exploits are recorded in the so called *Throne of Heroes*, but each summoned incarnation of the Heroic Spirit can only remember its first life. However what your saying is massively different to the records if this Golden Knight could truly remember the last time he was summoned…" (4)

"Ell Meliy-what?" Lancer asked back in confusion, but he was ignored as Kintaro finally found a biro and began rapidly scribbling notes down with surprising speed, born of practice for being a Magus where the speed of inscribing magical pentagrams could mean life or death in situations. It only took him about five seconds to put down all of his notes, before he flipped the book closed and pocketed it again, internally thinking 'I guess the word of one enemy Servant can't be considered proof, but if I find more evidence of this, I'll include it in my report to the Clock Tower.'

As he walked back in, Lancer continued to look up at him with some measure of bemusement, but Kintaro just said "It's not important for us right now, what is more important is what to do tomorrow."

With those words, Kintaro joined Lancer at the table once more, before explaining "Now, tomorrow will start with just me attending school as I usually do-" However, he was suddenly interrupted by Lancer saying "Oi, if you think there's a high chance for Masters at your school, why risk going in? Wouldn't it be better if we started hunting for potential Masters outside of the school during those hours? If you do find a Master in your school, you can't do anything without having to involve the entire campus right? Worse so if a Master without those scruples finds you and starts battle which pulls in all the students."

However, the Magus wearily shook his head, before calmly explaining "It's not a high chance, it's a _definite_ chance, I already know there is, or will be soon a Master in my school. It's inevitable, there has never been a Holy Grail War that the Tohsaka family have not put a Magus in, and since there is only one potential heir this time, it's a given that _she_ will be a Master. I would have said before that there are two Masters, but I doubt highly that the Makiri heirs are capable of being Masters, they both seem to be unable to use magic, or at the very least are incredibly skilled at hiding it."

"Whoa hold up, _She_? You already know a Master?" Lancer asked incredulously. Kintaro simply nodded, before answering "Tohsaka Rin, a girl in the same year as me coincidentally, she is the one Master I can easily predict, I would say she is rather haughty and has a high pride in her abilities, as a descendant of a famous magical family, she would never try something as callous as fighting in public, she's also the headstrong type who would rather challenge her enemy head on due to her pride so I doubt she will try to have her Servant assassinate me. My guess would be that since I have summoned Lancer, she will be the Master of Saber, or possibly Archer, but regardless, she will have one of the three _Knights_ as her Servant."

"Whoa, you seem to know quite a lot about this girl…" Lancer said with an insinuating smirk, once again showing that he hadn't given up on his earlier notion, however the way Kintaro didn't rise to the bait surprised him, it seemed those words were his honest opinion of the girl, regardless of interest or not. Interested now, Lancer asked "So, what are you planning I do during this time?"

Kintaro shrugged, before saying "Just remain in your spiritual form at my side, I will need you to warn me if you sense another Servant's presence, and it's a precaution just in case the worst situation does happen and a Master does indeed try to attack myself or another Master in public. If that happens, it will be my responsibility to stop them before the damage goes out of control."

Lancer arched an eyebrow at this last comment, something about those last few words had seemed distinctly out of place, and didn't make much sense to him. 'His responsibility?' Lancer mused as opposite him Kintaro seemed to lapse back into thought, perhaps considering if there was anything else to go over tomorrow.

The mental imprinting that had been given to him by The World had left him with memories regarding the secrecy of Magic in this day and age, but also that Magus nowadays had less scruples in general, anything was permitted so long as it wasn't discovered by the public. It seemed his Master also adhered to the code of secrecy, but that did not make it his responsibility to protect the public should others go rampant, if anything it was something he should definitely not stick his neck into, it should be left to the Association and the Magus family who enacted as caretakers of the land.

But here his Master was acting as if he would willingly step in himself if innocents were involved. Sure, this could be considered the childish desires of a person who knows no danger, but there was no doubt that Kintaro Sousuke was a fully fledged Magus of more than considerable training and power himself. As such, self preservation would normally be the way of the Magus, for those who smell of the blood of others that was the only way. (5)

To him, the Magus boy before him also seemed to smell of spilled blood, just like any other Magus, it was just part of the general aura that came off him…

But why was it the smell was only of his own spilt blood and not of others?

'It seems like I really did get an intriguing Master.' Lancer thought finally as Kintaro finally raised his head, saying in an almost annoyed tone "I can't really think of what to do tomorrow evening, I'll give it some thought tomorrow instead since we have the morning and afternoon taken up by school, so let's just end it here today."

"All righty then!" Lancer declared, accompanying his words with another large yawn, before something came to his thoughts. "Where am I meant to be sleeping?"

"Huh? Just pick whichever room you like the look of." Kintaro just replied off hand, but Lancer seemed to be thinking about something, his face turned into a slight scowl, before saying "Perhaps it's for the best that we stay in the same room, Master."

"Why exactly?" Kintaro asked with some slight confusion. Lancer quickly explained "It's just that, while even though I don't regard myself as a Knight, I will only ever face my foe directly on the battlefield with weapons in our hands, using our full might. However, that's me only, and only because I am strong, even if we don't include Assassin who always targets the Masters, any weaker Servant would obviously choose to target the Master before fighting a more powerful Servant, and the best time is while we are resting at night."

"Oh, I get it, so you're saying to stop anyone simply killing me in my sleep, it's better that we stay in the same room?" Kintaro realised, but he surprised the servant by laughing. "Well, I'm sure it won't make much difference if you just use a room nearby the Master Bedroom which I use, and besides, there are numerous Boundary Fields about the house that nullifies anything that approaches with negative intent, the only reason that the Golden Knight managed to even get in the front door was because I had to turn them off temporarily while I was summoning you, since the wards would have destabilized the summoning spell. There's no need to worry about stuff like that."

"Really?" Lancer replied, before deciding to test it. For just one moment, he emitted a brief amount of killing intent, imagining briefly that he would summon his Noble Phantasm and attack his unaware Master before him.

Big mistake.

He barely managed to move in time before a magical bolt of lightning sparked strangely from the kitchen light, which had turned off milliseconds prior. The bolt of pure energy, electrical force amplified in a heartbeat into a magical attack, instantly fried the chair he had been sitting on, a strange *clacking* noise ringing throughout the building as if in response to his ill intent as he tumbled to the side, trying to recover from his sudden movement.

"Ἀφοπλίζω!" Kintaro suddenly intoned in a powerful, but strange archaic language, his voice ringing with force as he uttered this phrase. The effect was instant, the strange clacking stopped, and light returned once more to the room as Lancer froze, staring at the smouldering wreck that had been the chair. "Lancer! Why on earth did you set off the Boundary Field only moments after I warned you about it!" Kintaro shouted angrily at the downed Servant.

"…quick question, how on earth did you rig a B-class Magic into a Boundary Field?" Lancer asked as he continued to stare at the smouldering wreck. His instinct had warned him just in time to the danger he had been in, and while he was confident that such a spell would have been rendered useless against his own Magic Resistance, the sheer speed and power of the spell had completely caught him off guard, enough that he had instinctively tried to dodge it.

"Through a lot of effort and hard work if you must know, though it does help this house was built on one of the major Ley Lines in this area, but regardless, why on earth did you activate it!" Kintaro said back as he walked over to the ruin now left on the floor. Lancer just laughed sheepishly as he replied "Just checking if it was any good, but I have to say I didn't expect it to react THAT fast! You tied in the electrical power than runs through the house constantly to bypass the time it takes to normally build up Mana right? Won't that suck a huge amount of electricity up?"

"That's why the power went out after it activated, it reacts at about a blast every two seconds after the initial shot, and there's a couple of other spells in effect, but I deactivated them before the wards drew enough Mana from the Ley Line to activate. The alarm activates to hostile intent, but the magic activates to the presence of Prana along with hostile intent, hence how it targeted you instantly." Kintaro explained in an aggravated tone as he realised he was going to have to buy a new chair for the dining room now. He didn't even want to know what his father's reaction would be if he knew that his own unruly Servant had been the cause of destruction around the premises he paid for.

Lancer just nodded silently to the explanation, before picking himself up from the floor quickly checking the clothes he had recently obtained to make sure they were still in good condition and hadn't been singed by the spell. Thus relieved when he found no marks, the Servant said "Well, it's a good defensive measure, although I don't think it will have much effect against Saber or Rider who have natural magic resistance, it would certainly wake the entire house up if somebody intruded with hostile intent like I just emitted."

However, this seemed to be little relief to the man on the floor, who was struck with powerful premonitions that this would be the first of many aggravated situations this problematic Servant was going to put him through.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, thats the chapter wrapped up! Oh, and for the interested, yes I intend to pair Kintaro up with a heroinne of the storyline. However, as you can obviously guess, it wont be a Servant like ShirouSaber or Soichirou/Caster (Like I said before, I dislike Yaoi, and as thus will not write it myself, so no, Lancer and Kintaro are 100% straight men). The only thing so far is to choose between either Rin or Sakura, and at the moment, i'm more likely to choose Sakura, but it's still up in the air. If I do choose Sakura, I am probably going to change how Sakura used to interact with Shirou into something else and not use the elements of the Heavens Feel storyline (bar Zouken, he will make a cameo for a while, but not be a major antagonist, he can sit out on this war XP), but again like I said, it's still up in the air.**

**Anyhow, I made a minor mistake, I planned to have Archer summoned on this night in the story, but realised something wrong, Rin was in school on the same day as she summoned Archer, but I depicted Kintaro as summoning Lancer on the weekend. As such, I will have to delay Archer's summoning by a day. As of now, F/SN will begin with the next day being Day 1, the last four Chapters were the prologue for my storyline, so now the next day will begin as it did for Shirou on Day 1 and Rin in the Prologue for her.**

**Anyhow, I am probably going to take a little while for the next chapter, since I want to decide now which Heroinne I use for this route, so i'll cya all with the next chapter! Rate and Review as normal, and if anybody wants to vote on which Heroinne they would prefer more, then please do so, Shirou will end up with the opposing Heroinne to Kintaro (If Kintaro/Rin, then Shirou/Sakura and vice versa, I dont want to do a Saber/Shirou since that ends badly no matter how you spin it) cya all next time!**

**(1) Yeah sounds odd, but I checked and apparently your average Magus has a total of 25 Units of Prana within their body. For comparison, Shirou has somewhere around 20-30 Units. Tohsaka has around 500 Units in her body. I'm undecided what Kintaro will have as his maxima, but it will be comparable to Rin since they are both true Magus (more likely greater, but definitely less than Ilya).**

**(2) Only two Masters in the storyline are definitely capable of doing so, Rin and Ilya, since they are the only trained Magus. It's possible that Sakura may know, but since she never realised Shirou lived in a Magus house (Rin could instantly sense the Boundary Field when she walked in), it's possible she can't. Shirou cannot sense magic (although he can *feel* anomalous spiritual effects in the air), nor can Soichirou so they are also exempt.**

**(3) Gilgamesh is 2/3 God, 1/3 Human. Compared to the former and my own Lancer's 50:50 ratio, Gilgamesh is much closer to being a God than them, only Berserker is closer, as the child of Gods and who became a God after his demise.**

**(4) ….that's actually not true, there is very little evidence of what Waver Velvet did following the 4th Holy Grail War, other than acting as Rin's lecturer when she joined the Clock Tower, but I wanted to make a reference to him somewhere in my story, so I made one up XP.**

**(5) This was an expression Archer used to describe Magus, saying that Magus smelt of the blood that they had spilled to get where they had managed to.**


	5. Chapter 5 Interlude

**Heyo, today isn't really a chapter as thus, but an interlude. If your a VN reader, then no doubt you will recognise these scenes, but for those who are anime watchers only, these might be an interesting read. Since I have started into the chronological timeline, these are the dreams of individuals on the night before Day 1. Again, if your a VN reader, these might not interest you, but it's just something to pass the time until the next chapter (which is at 7000 words atm).**

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><p>Tohsaka Rin<p>

_This is a story from ten years ago._

_..I'm watching someone I know very well_

_A tall man with a deep-featured face, who to my knowledge has never told a joke, is patting my head._

_No, that's not quite right._

_I guess he doesn't know how much strength to use. So to be more accurate, he is grabbing my head and mashing it around_

_I guess that's only to be expected_

_After all, that's the first time he's ever patted my head._

"_I'll have to get going now, you know what to do, right?"_

_I answer the deep voice with a polite "Yes"._

_The man patting my head nods once, lets go, and stands up._

…_So, that was it_

_If I'd known it would be our final moment together, I would have made him laugh with my best jokes._

_I had practiced on telling jokes a lot, in hope that I could bring a smile to his grave face._

_I guess you could say I was sad that I couldn't tell him any of them._

"_Put the association in your debt by the time you mature. I'll let you decide what to do after that. You should be able to take care of yourself."_

_Even though he said such things, I guess he was still worried._

_He told me about the heirloom jewels, the jewels inherited from the master, and how to manage the basement._

_As he was telling me all the things I didn't know yet, I realized even as a child._

…_That most likely…_

_He wouldn't be coming back_

…_A war had started._

_Not a war between countries, but a war between people._

_But the only ones at war were seven people._

_In a situation like this, the word 'war' should be unsuitable, but here it's a different story as the ones in conflict are Magi._

_The seven Magi, each from a different faction, had started to compete for unknown reasons and killed each other in unknown ways._

_The man standing before me was one of them._

_He too was in a position to kill or be killed._

_He must have known more keenly than I did that his time was near._

"_Rin, the Holy Grail will appear eventually. It is our duty as the Tohsaka family to win it. More importantly if you want to be a Magus, you can't avoid it."_

_Once more, he patted my head and left._

_That was the end._

_That was the last time I saw the man, who entered the Holy Grail War as a Master and died. The man who was my teacher as well as father._

"_Take care, Father."_

_I see him off politely._

_I knew I was on the verge of crying, but I shed no tears._

_I loved him._

_He was a great father, and a great Magus._

_Among Magi, there are only obstinate people._

_In the whole world, I didn't think anyone had a greater character than his._

_He taught me as a teacher and loved me as a father._

_That's why I decided…_

_To choose my path according to what he left me in the end._

'…_Rin, the Holy Grail will appear eventually. It is our duty as the Tohsaka family to win it. More importantly if you want to be a Magus, you can't avoid it…'_

_In the end, he left me those words as a Magus and not a father._

_That is why at that moment, my path was determined._

"…_All right, I'll do my best to be a proper Magus…"_

_It's only natural for a student to follow the words of their teacher._

_Since then, through many twists and turns… I, Tohsaka Rin, have matured._

_It has been ten years since the winter day on which my father went to war._

_I haven't exactly been waiting for this moment, but I am excited._

_That's only natural._

_The event that I have never forgotten about is about to start…_

* * *

><p>Emiya Shirou<p>

**I am the bone of my sword.**

**Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.**

**I have created over a thousand blades.**

**Unknown to Death.**

**Nor known to Life.**

**Have withstood pain to create many weapons.**

**Yet, those hands will never hold anything.**

**So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works.**

…_When I came to, I was in a burning field._

_I guess there was a big fire._

_The familiar town had burned to ashes and it looked like the remains of a battlefield from a movie._

…_but that didn't last long either._

_The fire had died down by the time the sun rose._

_The tall wall of flame had shortened, and most of the buildings had fallen._

…_it felt strange, being the only thing in that place that still had its original form._

_I was the only one still alive around here._

_I must have been really lucky, or my house was built in a very lucky spot._

_I don't know which it was, but the point is, I was the only one left alive._

_I felt that since I had survived, I should live on._

_I started walking aimlessly, because I thought it would be dangerous just to stay there._

_I wasn't really concerned about getting burned up like the people lying around me._

…_Probably because, over and above not wanting to be like them, I had a stronger feeling in my mind._

_But still, I had no hope._

_It was already a wonder I was still alive, so I couldn't expect to be saved._

_I won't survive._

_Whatever happens, I won't be able to escape from this red world._

_It was such an absolute hell that even a small child could understand it._

_And I collapsed._

_Was it because there was no air? Was it because no function was left in my body?_

_Anyway, I collapsed and stared up at the clouded sky._

_Everything about me was burned up and I could see many shrivelled people._

_The dark clouds loomed overhead, telling me it would rain soon._

…_that's good, the fire will be put out once it rains._

_In the end, I sighed deeply and looked up at the sky._

_I say to myself that it hurts._

_I say so on behalf of all the people who couldn't even say so._

…_That was ten years ago._

_After that I was miraculously saved._

_My body survived._

_But I think all the other things about me burned up and were reduced to ashes._

_If you take away a child's parents, home, and all such things, there's nothing left for him._

_That's why there was only my body._

_I think it's a simple story._

_In other words, in order to let my body live…_

_My heart died._

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><p><strong>Well, thats them both! Yeah, I know I cut Shirou's dream down a bit, I only wrote up the part to do with the fire, but I felt it was a good idea, since both Rin's section and now Shirou's section ends with the phrase to do with Ten Years Ago. Again, i'm working on the next chapter as you read this, it's almost complete, so look forward to it!<strong>

**P.S An anonymous reviewer gave me a warning about something I accidentally said, so I think I will make this clear now.**

**I don't like Yaoi**

**It's a personal thing, while not going too deep into it certain real life situations kinda soured my whole view on the subject, combined with an already religious upbringing and it's no surprise I dislike the subject.**

**However, I hold nothing against those who do like it or those who do write it. Each and every person has their own right to do what they so enjoy, and no matter what the subject is, a persons efforts to create something based off of what they like should be commended, since there are so many people on this planet who do crap all productively. If you can create something unique from your own imagination and add it to the world, then no matter what it is, it's a praiseworthy achievement in my books. If any of you enjoy Yaoi subjects, then that's entirely up to you guys, if any of you can write Yaoi stories, then good for you guys, i'm only saying do not expect me ever to write a story based around the subject.**

**Hopefully, this may clear up any misunderstandings that may have occured, if this has done the opposite and angered people...then may I just point out I actually have a Mental Disability, and as thus it is incredibly difficult for me to express myself with the right words, I tend to insult when I mean to be nice, and I tend to say the wrong things to the wrong people, so i'm sorry if my words are misunderstood.**


	6. Chapter 6

**By god, this took too much work for me! Since nobody gave me any opinions about who the girl should be for this story (*cries* why do the people who read my stories rarely ever answer the important questions I ask?), I ended up sticking with the plot I had originally thought of in using Sakura. As you can guess, I suck at doing relationship things, so don't expect anything amazing. I can probably still change it after this chapter since it's still early, but it will be difficult.**

**By god, am I getting tired of writing chapters without action, the one thing I enjoy writing is battles and fights, I can do those well enough, but actual plot is soo difficult!**

**Anyhow, here is chapter 6, or better yet, Day 1 (incomplete rofl, it only goes as far as morning period at school, but at 12,000, it can be a chapter on it's own)**

**Enjoy!**

**P.S I may have ended up putting in too much information too early, I really wasn't sure how much to reveal or not, so if the first readers think I put too many plot points in too early, then i'll modify the chapter later to edit some out. Also, like I said, Kintaro's main power won't make a helluva lot of sense to Tsukihime readers, because Kintaro is 100% human, but i'm working on it as best I can!**

**Anyhow, enjoy!**

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><p><span>FateStay Night Day 1

"God it's too bright…"

That was the first words the powerful Magus muttered that morning as he awoke, more concerned with how intensely the small beam of light that had somehow evaded the shutters on the window to shine on his face was disturbing his sleep than anything else. As his eyes opened slowly, he was greeted by the usual morning sight of his own bedroom staring back at him once more, his school uniform hanging from a set of coat hangers off of the wardrobe at the opposite end of the room, the clock on the bedside cabinet ticking obnoxiously beside him as if to grate on his nerves.

TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK.

"Man, I need to get a digital clock…" Kintaro muttered drowsily as he pulled himself up into a sitting position under the sheets. From nearly two years of habit, his body had now adjusted itself so that he naturally awoke at around 6:00 in the morning. This was a useful habit now since on the weekdays it prevented him from missing the early morning clubs at the school he attended, and at the weekends, it got him up early enough so that he could start his Magus practice and training at the ideal time when his powers were naturally at their highest.

"Why on earth did I ever bother with joining that lousy club…" Kintaro muttered as he stretched his arms overhead, trying to drive the fatigue from his muscles as once again he cursed his luck that he had gotten himself involved with something as troubling as that club. "I mean, what's the point of doing an activity you have completely perfected beyond anyone else's skill in that place anyway?"

However, despite his grumbling, he knew why he had chosen to continue doing so, and it was for that reason alone he ignored his bodies fatigue and kicked the sheets off the bed, and dragged his half-naked self off to the main bathroom outside the Master Bedroom. While his room did have an en suite, the main bathroom was bigger and furnished much better so he always chose to use this room, after all since he had gotten used to living alone, it wasn't like he had ever needed to practice caution. As he closed the bathroom door behind him, he heard the loud curse of annoyance from the inhabitant of the other bedroom beside the bathroom, now abruptly awoken by the loud bang from the bathroom door being carelessly slammed shut behind the Magus.

'Well, if I have to get up at this time, he can too…' Kintaro grumbled in his thoughts with an uncharismatic lack of mercy as he filled the sink with water.

It doesn't take much to figure out that this Magus was obviously not a morning person, even though he always got up promptly on time, he still irrationally cursed the world about him for having awoken him as thus. However, even though he was tired, after splashing his face with water he felt momentarily awake enough to prepare himself for the day.

Halfway through doing so, he heard a loud bang as the bathroom door he hadn't bothered locking was practically kicked open by his annoyed servant, a loud voice shouting "What ungodly kind of Master wakes their Servant this early in the morning with a bang that loud!" Kintaro laughed half-heartedly at the annoyance in the Servant's voice as he started brushing his teeth in front of the mirror. Behind him, Lancer turned to leave the room, muttering numerous curses under his breath, before something caught his eye.

Kintaro in his barely awakened state didn't notice the Servant's advance behind him, Lancer keeping quiet as his curiosity at the enigma he had noticed about his Master from yesterday got the better of him as he sneaked forward, before peering into the mirror Kintaro was using.

"Ah, I knew it!" Lancer suddenly declared from right behind Kintaro, making the Magus almost jump out of his skin, barely managing to hold onto the basin to save himself from falling over backwards. Looking back up at his taller Servant with an annoyed expression, he asked "What?"

However, Lancer just laughed, before lifting a finger and tapping underneath his own eye, saying "That's some extraordinary eyes you have there, never seen eyes that colour before, is that why you wear those shades all the time?" Kintaro continued to look up at the Servant in confusion for a few seconds, before he suddenly ducked his head back down, swearing loudly at his mistake much to the Servants amusement.

Due to being not being a morning person, he rarely remembered to ever put on his shades until some time after he had finished getting dressed, it had never really been an issue in the past, since he had never lived with another person to care about it, only his family were fully aware what colour his eyes were due to the careful secrecy he maintained about his visage.

For a brief second, he considered looking back up and activating the magic in his eyes to solve the problem, something he had inevitably had to do once or twice before, but he supressed the urge, not only would it probably not work on a Servant, but he would never hear the end of it if Lancer knew the real colour of his Mystic Eyes when they were activated.

Instead, he simply growled out "Shut up!" before grabbing a towel to dry off his face and walking out with it, ignoring the Servants laughter behind him as he returned to his own room. So angry at himself and at Lancer at the same time, Kintaro didn't notice as Lancers laughter died in his throat, his expression tightening seriously at the man's quickly vanishing back.

Lancer just realised, in that moment, he had seen those eyes before, very recently at that, but it was completely impossible for him to consider it as possibly true. Even if they looked the same, it was probably just coincidence that the two individuals shared the same eye colour, but…

Blood red…

A Golden Knight with blood red eyes almost dancing with glee as they mocked the Leather Clad Servant before him…

"Coincidence…" Lancer muttered to himself, dismissing the idea as he walked back to his chosen bedroom.

* * *

><p>It took less than half an hour to finish getting ready as Kintaro finished eating his breakfast, shades now firmly in place on his face. Across the table, his bored Servant who had long finished eating his food was now clicking the buttons on the remote control in his hand again and again, trying to find something interesting to watch on the TV. Kintaro couldn't help but think once more of the ridiculousness of a Heroic Spirit of bygone ages watching television casually, but he had long since dismissed all allusions that Lancer was not fully aware of how to live in this world already.<p>

Glancing at the screen himself, Kintaro noticed the large teletype scrolling across the news channel Lancer had now reached, reading 'Gas leak accidents continue.' However, before he could even try to read more, Lancer had already switched channels, the TV now playing some strange advert about fruit and veg. Rolling his eyes, Kintaro went to clear his place as he asked "Are you going to be alright with following me around school for today? You're not going to try running off halfway through the day are you?"

"Of course not, I'm curious to see what's so great about the girls in this school you don't want me anywhere near." Lancer casually replied as he grabbed another apple from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table. Once again, this got the response that the Servant sought as Kintaro barely kept himself from shouting back "It's not like that! If you show yourself, you could easily blow my cover, and you will only be making my life so much harder for no reason, why do you insist on even remaining corporeal anyway?"

Lancer shrugged as he took a sizable bite from the fruit in hand, before simply answering "It's more interesting this way, I'm not going to be in this world for long, so I'll enjoy it while I'm here." This answer surprised the Magus, he assumed that the Servants desired the Holy Grail to give themselves a second chance at life, but the way his Servant casually dismissed how long he was going to be staying in this world suggested otherwise.

He felt tempted to ask just what exactly Lancer desired from the Holy Grail, but just as soon as he was about to try, Lancer's head turned away from the television back to face his, that strange mischievous look dancing across his hawk like features as he asked "So, what's up with the shades then? I'd figure if somebody had really unique eyes like that, they would be popular with the girls no matter what, so why are you harming your chances by hiding them?"

Kintaro sighed with an aggravated tone, replying sharply "I'm sure I told you that there is at least one other Magus in my school already, and I don't doubt they would find eyes like mine rather suspicious, just like you said how many people have ever been seen with eyes like mine? They are obviously a magical trait, as thus hiding them is safer than revealing them."

"Really? If it were me, just like I proved this morning, the impulse to find out what's underneath is so much stronger than knowing, I'd say it's more suspicious to wear them than not." Lancer replied with a smug grin. However, Kintaro suddenly leaned in closer across the table, saying "Try to look through them at my eyes."

Slightly confused, Lancer peered into the black lenses like he was asked. Just like all sunglasses, it's easy to see through darker lenses when under close scrutiny, but Lancer raised his eyebrows in surprise at what he saw within the lenses, before murmuring "Blue… are you using magic to change your eye colour, or is it the shades themselves?" As if in answer, Kintaro lifted the shades off his eyes, once again revealing the unique red iris of his eyes to the Servant as he passed his shades to Lancer.

Gingerly taking the shades, Lancer placed them other his own face, expecting the light to dim as he did so, however his eyes couldn't focus as he looked through the lenses, his vision suddenly swimming in and out of motion, almost making him feel nauseous. Quickly pulling the lenses from his face, Lancer looked sourly down at the object in his hand as Kintaro explained "They are special, in that you can only see through them clearly with the eyes I have, and they have a magic that not only changes what my eyes look through the lenses, but also helps cover up any stray Odo that may escape from my eyes."

"Gotcha, so those eyes have magic in them then?" Lancer asked as he tossed the shades across the table. Kintaro easily caught them out of the air, before covering his eyes once more, hiding the red from view as he explained "Yes, and a rare one at that, I'm actually specially favoured by the Magus Association purely because of these eyes I bear, I even have the right to bear the title of 'Lord' simply because I have inherited such a rare magic, even if it's use isn't going to be much help in this war. It's one of the reasons I was able to force my selection as a candidate to be sent out to this war above other Magus of greater age then myself."

"So, those eyes are 'special' after all…" Lancer muttered to himself as his thoughts strayed back to the Golden Knight once more. He felt half tempted to point this out to his Master and find out if perhaps they could discover the Golden Knights powers through this, but something made him choose not to. Subconsciously, he didn't want to think that the arrogant Servant who had so clearly looked down on him as trash was able to do so possibly because of the power he might possibly share with his Master.

Besides, his instinct told him that even if there was a link, the Golden Knight had something far greater than an ability as simple as Mystic Eyes at his disposal, after all he had incredible magical resistance, far more so than the average Lancer class Servant, enough to perhaps even be comparable to a Saber class. There was no way a skill as simple as Mystic Eyes would be capable of defeating him, even the great eyes of petrification that the Gorgons had would probably be ineffective against him now that he had become a Heroic Spirit (1). Yet his instinct told him that Golden Knight could easily defeat him regardless. That meant he had an ability greater than something as simple as Mystic Eyes.

'Perhaps I'm just thinking about it too much; perhaps it really is just coincidence… either way, Mystic Eyes are no threat to me, and if there is by chance a correlation, same abilities cancel out so it's no threat to Sousuke either, so I can just dismiss it…'

"As far as I care, they are a means to accomplish my goal, nothing more or less." Kintaro said flatly in return to Lancer's seeming praise of his ability, not noticing Lancer's darker trail of thoughts. He didn't admire nor care about his Mystic Eyes, they were just a weapon he would wield to reach his final goal, they had served their purpose in getting his as thus far, it was up to him and his determination to reach the finish line now.

"Anyway, I need to get moving or I'm going to be late for morning *practice*" Kintaro announced suddenly as he rose from his chair. Lancer glanced up incredulously at his Master, asking "You? What kind of practice could you use at a school?" The Magus just laughed as he grabbed his bag from nearby, answering "None, but appearances are always good to uphold if I want to keep my identity hidden."

* * *

><p>It took about half an hour to reach the school, and as thus it was about 7:00 when Kintaro arrived at the school gates, his invisible Servant in tow behind him. As usual, the first thing that struck Kintaro' senses, even as he approached the gates from a distance, was the unusual slightly higher concentration of Mana that hung in the air, proof of this school being the territory of at least one Magus.<p>

Normally, the effect of a Magus on the environment around them wasn't this great, since a Magus has only so much Odo in their own body to let loose. Kintaro himself normally didn't let any Odo escape his body through the convenient effect of the shades he wore, but he knew the reason why Mana had aggregated so much here. It's simply because the Magus was not only powerful, but had to remain about this area for hours on end, it was the equivalent concentration one could expect to find if they walked into the Magus's home itself.

Once again, Kintaro wished he could hide the Mana that was escaping from the connection between himself and Lancer, but that was an impossible task, the best he could do was scatter it so he wouldn't be detected face to face. He was pretty confident even if he was face to face with Tohsaka she wouldn't be able to tell as long as she didn't have a Servant on hand herself.

"Hm, you sure there are Master's here? I can't even sense the lingering presence of one Servant." Lancer suddenly spoke from mid-air, causing the Magus to jump, before he remembered that the only one capable of hearing the Servants voice in spiritual form was its Master anyway. Taking a couple of seconds to calm his too fast beating heart from the shock and a quick glance to see if anybody was watching him, Kintaro eventually muttered "They still haven't all been summoned, my guess is that only four of the seven, including yourself, have been summoned thus far."

"Gotcha… so, how come this place looks empty? I thought schools would be packed with students and the like." The voice of the Servant from mid-air once again asked. Kintaro growled under his breath, before answering "It's too early for most of them, only those who come for morning practice would be this early." Before his Servant could pester him with further questions, Kintaro stepped onto the school grounds, heading for the large outbuilding close to the gate, where his ears could already pick up the faint noise of conversation within.

As the Magus stepped into the building, Lancer took a quick glance around and, having spotted the targets on the far wall and the mislaid arrows around the area quickly assumed this was meant to be an archery range. However, what shocked him the most was his Master's next action, as surprisingly a large smile raised across the man's features as he enthusiastically shouted "Morning people!" to the two turned backs of the students who were having a conversation nearby.

However, as the individuals turned about, both revealed to be female students, the strangely boyish looking girl with brown hair smiling in turn as she greeted back "Morning Sousuke! About time you turned up!" Kintaro's brows arched in surprise as the second, much more beautiful looking girl looked over at him, some slight surprise also showing across her features before she hid it, smiling amicably as she also greeted "Good morning, Sousuke-kun."

"Tohsaka, how come you're here so early?" Kintaro asked in genuine confusion, slightly worried that the first person he met as he walked into school was the one major threat to him on campus.

"Ah, so this is that Tohsaka chick you were talking about? Not bad, I see why you wanted me away from the girls here, she's damn fine looking." Lancer suddenly interrupted from mid-air once more as opposite the two men Tohsaka frowned slightly at the question, unable to hear Lancer's words as she instead answered Kintaro's question by saying "It would seem that all of the clocks in my house were somehow out by an hour, so I ended up coming in much earlier than I had intended."

Kintaro once again inwardly cursed his Servant; trying his best to hide the strain across his features as he laughed back slightly, saying "Really? I wonder how that happened, was somebody playing a prank on you or something?" At first, Tohsaka seemed to give him an incredulous look in reply, as if such an idea was stupid. But after a few seconds, she suddenly looked down as if deep in thought, quietly saying "You might be right there."

'What on earth kind of Magic did she use that could accidentally set every clock forward an hour?' Kintaro wondered silently as Tohsaka seemed pensive for a moment. It was obvious it could not have been a prank of any kind, after all as far as he knew, she also lived alone in her home so unless somebody could break into the home of a Magus in the first place, it was impossible.

However, Tohsaka in the end shrugged lightly, before turning back to the other girl, saying "Speaking of time, it looks like it's time for the club members to be arriving if Sousuke-kun has arrived. I'll be leaving now to keep out of the way of your practice." The other girl seemed to object, saying "What, you're not going to stay and watch? I'm sure Sousuke wouldn't mind anybody watching him practice, right Sousuke?"

"Don't drag me into this Ayako; I don't fancy getting on the wrong end of our school idol!" Kintaro said with a laugh, once again bemusing his silent Servant with this strange air of camaraderie. "Tch, chicken." Ayako muttered back as Tohsaka just smiled amicably, trying to keep up her image as always now she was in front of another student other than her friend. "Well, outsiders really shouldn't be in the range anyway, right?" Tohsaka added as she rose from her seat to leave.

"Oi, behind you, another lady inbound, and by god does that one have a nice rack!" Lancer suddenly announced from behind Kintaro, followed with a wolf whistle from the Servant. Once again, Kintaro had to try and suffocate the killing intent that was rising within him directed at the invisible Servant, lifting a hand to his face as he pretended to adjust his shades to try and hide the grimace that he couldn't hold back.

"Senpai?" a soft voice called from behind him, instantly identifying the owner of the voice to Kintaro without even having to turn and look. As he lifted his hand from his face, now composed back into a smile, he was about to turn to greet the owner of the voice but was surprised slightly at the expression he saw on Tohsaka's face.

Obviously, she couldn't tell he could see it because of the shades he always wore, but he could see the surprise on the girls face clear as she looked past his shoulder at whomever was standing there addressing him as *Senpai* 'That's a surprise, so there is something that can catch the school idol Magus off guard as well?' Kintaro thought off hand as he turned to the individual Tohsaka was staring at.

Sure enough, standing there looking up at him with surprise flashing in her purple eyes, was Matou Sakura.

Once again, Kintaro was struck with a sense of revolt at whatever must have been done to this girl for her to have such features. He was fully aware of the connection between the Matou family line and the Magus family line Makiri, after all he had researched every possible enemy he would encounter in this war, but he also knew that this girl has no Odo for use of magic to be possible with that body of hers, he had spent almost an entire year close to the girl to ascertain this fact. This was also one of the reasons he was part of the Archery Club.

Undoubtedly, whatever had been forced upon her to cause her biology to twist so badly that both hair and eyes had inverted colours had failed (3), after all you no matter what you do to a change a container to improve it's functions, if that container cannot actually hold anything, it was all a futile endeavour. He knew the intense pain that came with modifying a body to accept something it normally cannot; it was the underlying function behind the Magic Crest that he bore after all.

He could only hope that whatever had been forced upon her had been done with her hope in its success, although he doubted it highly after getting to know her that a girl like this would ever wish to be a Magus. The only thing that had made the extreme pain that he had been forced through to become a powerful Magus bearable was that it was his own wish to go through the suffering, to gain his power. He knew that it would have been forced upon him no matter what, but he had willingly embraced it, after all it was the only way he could continue after what he had done.

But this girl, now over her surprise at seeing him and now smiling gently up at him, it was obviously not the same for her; undoubtedly it had been the twisted desperate desires of whatever predecessors of the Makiri family who had come before her to forcibly continue the dying magic of their family. The Makiri were an all but extinct family of Magus now, and no doubt whatever twisted experiments had been done to the girl before him was because of their desire to see it restored at the expense of the young girl before him.

It took all of his considerable self-control to swallow the rage that welled up in his heart towards those who had done this to her to smile back as he replied "Morning Sakura, I'm sure I've told you to stop calling me Senpai millions of times now, can't you just use my name?"

However, before Sakura could say a reply, Tohsaka suddenly rose loudly behind his back, interrupting their conversation as she spoke to Ayako "Well, I'll be going. See you later, Mitsuzuri-san." Both Kintaro and Sakura looked over at Tohsaka as the other girl answered "Yeah, see you later, Tohsaka."

As Tohsaka walked by both of them, Sakura timidly said "…Thank you for coming, Tohsaka-senpai." Tohsaka seemed to hesitate for a second, although she didn't turn to face Sakura. However, whatever it was she hesitated for she quickly got over as she briskly walked away, saying over her shoulder "Thanks. You take care too, Sakura."

As the school idol vanished from the Archery range, Kintaro couldn't help but feel surprised. "That's the first time I've ever heard that girl call someone by the first name." Kintaro said in surprise as he stared off after where the Magus had vanished. Beside him, he didn't notice as Sakura inexplicably tensed up at his words.

"So Matou, your alone this morning?" Ayako suddenly asked from behind him. Sakura could only hang her head as she softly replied "…yes, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." However, Ayako just shrugged, replying "Nah, its fine. If he doesn't want to come, there's no point in forcing him."

"Him?" Kintaro asked curiously at this reference. Ayako looked up in surprise, before replying "Oh yeah, you weren't here last year were you? We used to have a really talented guy here, about as good as you when you're actually being serious instead of faking a lack of skill." Kintaro winced at the accusation, when he had first joined, he hadn't realised that he would stand out if he practiced seriously.

_For a fully trained Magus, the concepts of Archery and mind-set were easily done, even by a weak Magus, and for one who trains his body, the stance and experience needed to use the bow can also be replicated with ease._

_Ashibumi_

_Dozukuri_

_Yugamae_

_Uchiokoshi_

_Hikiwake_

_Kai_

_Hanare_

_Zanshin_

_These are the eight stages of Archery, the fundamental basics of Kyudo. For one who has mastered their body, the learning of the first seven steps is fundamentally basic. However, having mastered one's body doesn't necessarily mean you can master Archery. The last state, Zanshin, cannot be replicated simply through ones martial prowess, for it takes the fortitude of mind to understand the needs for Zanshin._

_For a true Magus, it is simple, for those who can manipulate the power of this world for their own gain, such mentality is easy. It is simply the difference in mental preparation, when you have fired the arrow, can a person believe without any doubt that it will hit? This is a difficult concept despite how it sounds, after all there is always a chance it could miss so having that perfect mind-set is nearly impossible._

_But, the difference in Zanshin between one who can master it, and one who cannot, is simply the reason why you look when you follow through. Do you look to ascertain the result of if the arrow has hit or not? Or do you look to accept the result that the arrow has hit or not? If one can believe with supreme will that the arrow will hit when they release the string, then it is obvious that the arrow will hit. This is the difference between one who is a Magus and one who is not, it is the very definition of a Magus to aim to achieve the impossible, so already knowing an arrow will hit no matter what is a simple measure for one as such._

Because of his training, it was a given that even if it was the first time in his life he had picked up the bow, that he could easily master it. And he had done so, much to the surprise of everyone there. However, as time went on he had toned down his skill deliberately, to try and blend in more despite his very first day when he had hit the bull's eye over ten times in a row.

"Well, I have my reasons for not wanting to stand out." Kintaro said half-heartedly as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. However Ayako smirked in turn as she replied "So said the ego driven guy who must wear shades no matter how much the teachers go at him."

"Hey, that's not fair, there's a medical reason I wear these!" Kintaro said defensively as he continued past the laughing girl towards the equipment cupboard. "And like anyone believes that!" Ayako shouted back from behind him, still laughing. Ignoring the laughing, which also included a more masculine sounding one from the sniggering his invisible Servant was trying to unsuccessfully hide, Kintaro quickly found the composite bow that he favoured amongst the bows inside.

Unlike the other school equipment, the bow Kintaro had specially bought for practice was actually smaller than the standard bow, but due to the materials he had the bow custom made from, required a lot of strength to pull the string back, it went without saying that he was the only person who used the Archery Range who could actually use this bow effectively. It was heavier than the expensive carbon bows that had started appearing in the equipment rack recently thanks to some member with deep pockets, but he still preferred it due to the work-out it gave his arms to use it.

Grabbing a quiver of practice arrows as well, he stood away from the shelves as he started towards the line-up for the targets, quickly knocking an arrow to the bow as he drew back in preparation to start, concentrating on the target before him as he zoned out from the world around him.

"That Sakura girl keeps staring forlornly at you, ya know, think she's interested?"

"Will you shut the hell up!" Kintaro whispered under his breath angrily at Lancer as he accidentally relaxed his grip, the arrow loosed wildly as it flew far to the right of his target, so far right in fact that in a shot that could almost be considered miraculous, it flew straight and true into the bulls eye of the wrong target.

"Oi, Sousuke you idiot! How many more times do I have to tell you you're meant to wear the breastplate and gloves BEFORE you start! Get off the range and put them on!" Ayako shouted out from the back of the room, hiding her amazement at the sheer weird luck of that shot by getting angry at the guy for once again not bothering to follow the rules and wear the safety equipment.

Refraining from swearing under his breath, Kintaro lowered the bow once more as he turned back towards the two girls. By this time, assorted other members had started filing into the range, the first of which were still staring stupidly at the arrow quivering on the wrong target, having seen the miraculous shot as well.

"Stupid safety rules, I've never even hit myself once with the bowstring." Kintaro complained as he marched back, putting his bow down on the table as he shot an angry glare at the girl at the table. Or it would have been, but as usual his shades made it impossible for anyone but him to tell, and right now he wasn't completely sure if that was reassuring or annoying as the tomboy captain smirked up at him from her seat.

"Um, I'm sure Mitsuzuri-senpai is just looking out for us members." Sakura said from nearby as she also carefully pulled on the _Yugake_ over her own right hand. Kintaro could only give out an exasperated sigh of defeat at the girl, muttering "Fine…" as he went off to get changed too.

However, that changed when he heard the heavy footprints of an obviously annoyed individual ring out across the range. "Ho boy…" Ayako muttered behind him as she saw the individual responsible for the noise. 'Only one person ever storms in here like that…' Kintaro thought exasperatedly as he turned back from the changing rooms, it was more important that he dealt with whatever had pissed this guy off again before he did something stupid again.

Matou Shinji

If there was ever a type of person Kintaro could dislike more than this guy, he had yet to find it. Even his emotionless father was an easier person to get along with than this guy, at least his father's disdain and lack of care in his son's emotional state was simply professional. He would have just knocked his lights out the first time he met the guy a year ago if he hadn't known Sakura first, but he didn't want to upset Sakura by beating up her brother, even if the man was the practical and physical expression of the term *ass* given human shape.

"Ha, what the hell do you think you're staring at?" Shinji almost hissed at the first year student he saw looking in his direction, a young fresh faced recruit who had barely joined a few days ago. The boy barely managed to stammer out "N-Nothing V-Vice-Captain!"

However, for some reason Kintaro couldn't figure out, even pandering to his social standing as a higher person than the freshman student didn't seem to sate Shinji's wrath like it normally would, if anything the term seemed to anger him even more. "Nii-san…" Sakura quietly whispered from beside Kintaro, staring wide eyed at her brother. Shinji seemed to almost fold over slightly as he muttered "So…you're the same huh…? You're the same…calling me egotistical just like she did…!" (4)

Abruptly, Shinji stood back up straight; his eye gleaming with cold cruelty as he theatrically threw his arms wide, loudly announcing "Everyone! It seems this person likes to think that he's better than we are! So, I propose we all give him his chance to prove it!" The freshman could only look up in horror as all eyes turned to him in the range. Since Shinji was highly popular with the girls in the school, this obviously turned a lot of bad attention towards the new student, who couldn't even bring himself to deny Shinji's words, his knees trembling slightly now.

"Well? If you're so much better than we are, then hitting the centre of the target should be no problem for you, right?" Shinji asked coldly as he held his hand out beside him. As if in response to this motion, one of his many fans amongst the girls passed him their bow and quiver. With a malicious smile, Shinji thrust these articles into the unresponsive arms of the student.

"Well? In your own time, freshman." Shinji maliciously finished as he grinned at the student. 'That bastard…' Kintaro thought in his head as he grit his teeth in annoyance. However, just moments before he was about to step forward and try to stop this, he suddenly had an idea.

Kintaro stepped back slightly so as he was now back behind both Sakura and Ayako's sight, but still able to see the now gathering crowd of students who were watching the freshmen student tremble as he tried to do what Shinji unfairly demanded of him, arm's trembling as he raised the bow. Since everyone was now focused on the trembling student, nobody could see him.

As he focused, his view narrowed in not on the student, but on the arrow he held.

Mental imagination.

As he focuses, he feels the connections start in his mind, electrical synapses bare as they waited for the power to be connected. With a simple mental suggestion, the spark crosses between the synapse.

_The flick of a switch_.

Power surges within.

He focuses, ignoring the pain of thousands of needles that stab his body as his body rejects the foreign presence with practiced ease as he draws a tiny fraction of his own Odo out.

_Magic Circuit._

The connectional grid within his own soul that enables him to utilise the force known as Magic.

One line, one circuit.

With practiced ease and minimal effort, he chooses the one out of the hundred that he can feel and connects.

_Switch over._

The circuit has all the power it needs, even if the amount is miniscule compared to the force this circuit is able to handle.

_Preparations complete, Trigger active._

While this process seemed to take an eternity, in reality less than a second has passed since the Magus started the process to completing it. Kintaro breathed out slowly, releasing the tension in his body as best as he could. Even if the spell is miniscule, it still strains the body to keep any amount of a foreign presence within, so he has to focus to keep his features relaxed.

In actuality, this much pain is laughable to him, his endurance is far greater than this, this is comparable to a walk in the park for his mind to endure this pain. He didn't even need to use the Magic Crest for a spell this simple and basic; his own body has the knowledge of how to use it without borrowing that of his predecessors.

As such, he quietly waited as the freshman panicked, trying desperately to knock the arrow to the strong as Shinji leered at him. Although the boy is panicking and sweating, his eyes pleading for relief from this situation, he has nothing to worry about. Even though his stance is awful due to his panicking, sweat pouring down his features as his arms trembled, the bow jumping constantly in his grip, his hands threatening to lose their grip on arrow and string, there's no need for concern. The arrow will hit the target in the bulls-eye. It is the inevitable result. Why?

Kintaro Sousuke will not allow any other result than this.

The boy finally loosed his grip on the arrow, the bowstring going *twang* erratically as the arrow was loosed. It was a terrible shot, not only had the boy not drawn the string back far enough, but the arrow tip was pointed too low. The arrow would fall short of the target, and clatter off the ground until it slid to a stop about half a metre short of the target. Of course, it would take almost superhuman reflexes to be able to analyse this fact in the milliseconds as the string started to straighten, pushing the arrow forth to begin its flight.

To Kintaro Sousuke's eyes, that motion was terribly slow.

_Trigger off._

"Άνεμος"

Muttered so quietly that only he could hear, in a tongue that would be impossible to recognise in this country, Kintaro spoke the incantation.

It is a true testament to a Magus's skill if they can control magic by using the minimal words required. It is easy enough for any Magus to summon Wind to themselves using incantations if they have the necessary attribute to utilise Wind. For this Magus, it is not an issue, be it Fire, Water, Earth, Wind or even Void element, they are all under his control to use so long as he channels the force through the correct Magic Circuit from his soul.

However, just as any Magus with adequate attributes could summon the elements, control of the elements took much more. Often, an incantation will be needed to shape and channel the forces of the magic, elsewise it just becomes an instantaneous burst of magical force. The more intricate the needs of the spell, the longer the incantation.

However, through just speaking one word, Kintaro selectively chose to use the already existing Wind from outside the Archery Range to blow in, he chose the force of the Wind or strength the Wind would blow, and he chose the direction of the Wind in every temporal axis. With these conditions all chosen, using one simple word, *Wind*, Kintaro corrected the flight of the arrow, until it flew straight and true, burying itself deep within the heart of the target.

Everybody froze in surprise; even Shinji jaw gaped widely as everyone's sight zoned in on the arrow. Almost unbidden, the student fell to his knee's as if the strings holding him up had been cut, panting deeply in shock and nervous tension. However, Shinji recovered quickly, looking down at the student with a venomous expression as he quietly spoke "That was just lucky, I want to see you try that shot again…"

"All right, that's enough Shinji!" Ayako finally said as she stepped forward to stop the irate Vice Captain. Shinji spun about with a livid expression on his face, almost spitting his words out as he said "He was mocking me, as the Captain of this club I can-"

"Vice-Captain." Kintaro quietly corrected as he walked forward now to join Ayako in confronting Shinji. Shinji's eyes narrowed as he looked at the Magus, but he didn't say anything in retort to his words.

While Kintaro had never carried through his intention to teach Shinji a lesson once before, thanks to a certain conversation Kintaro had staged with Shinji once before, Shinji knew never to anger the normally sociable man who stood before him.

* * *

><p><strong>F<strong>**lashback**

"_You know Shinji, Sakura had a strange mark on her arm the other day…" Kintaro said conversationally to Shinji one day on the school rooftop. By some strange chance, Kintaro had happened to pass classroom 2-C when the bell had gone, despite 2-C being in the opposite direction of the stairwell which led outside. As such, when Kintaro had spotted Shinji, he had said there was something important to talk about, and asked if he could come to the rooftop to talk. Despite Shinji's initial attempt to ignore him, persistance paid off, and now Shinji was standing there, arm's crossed as he looked down at him in disdain._

_In reality, there was no coincidence, and Kintaro knew exactly what the mark in question had been, despite Sakura's assurances she had just whacked it on a telephone pole by accident. It didn't take much to connect that if Shinji normally took his anger out pretty badly on his Kouhei's in the Archery Club, then his sister, who would never tell anyone due to her timid and kind nature, would receive even worse at home._

"_What? Everybody knows that Sakura is clumsy, it's hardly surprising if she gets a mark or two from falling over or the like…" Shinji replied in a strangely defensive voice, glaring at Kintaro as if asking what was the need to tell him this. Once again, Kintaro thanked that his shades could hide his eyes, while he could keep his features completely straight with incredible effort, there was no way to hide the rage and anger reflected in his eyes right now._

_In his eyes, Shinji was the worst scum on the planet. Older siblings exist purely to give example and to protect the younger sibling from that which threatened them, to console them and teach them what they couldn't learn by themselves. That was what Kintaro believed were the ideals behind an older brother from what he himself had experienced. However, Shinji used his younger sister as a target to vent his frustrations and anger. _

_That was completely reversed, while he hated to admit it, in his family it had always been the younger sibling who had angrily lashed out at the elder, perhaps in jealousy, anger, or even just plain upset. It had always been the older brother who had gone through it all with a smile, taking it all head on without flinching on to show his love and caring for his younger brother who couldn't understand what came with the difference in their ages._

_When he had lost that connection, he had realised everything he had taken for granted, and had learnt the most important and difficult lesson that his brother had been trying to give him._

_Shinji's existence spat on that._

_However, in order to try and protect that innocent girls happiness, simply delivering retribution would never work; he had to do this differently._

"…_I think somebody may be bullying her, Shinji." Kintaro said as if with a troubled voice. Shinji cocked an eyebrow as if in mock surprise, saying "Hah? What gives you that answer?" Kintaro just shook his head, saying "Instinct."_

_Now turning back to look at Shinji, Kintaro openly said "Your sister is a nice person, Shinji, and I can't help but get angry at the idea that anyone could do that to her. I know it probably angers you as well as her older brother-" Kintaro had to almost force himself to spit out that sentence, but he continued none the less "-so I would like to offer my help if she ever gets hurt again."_

"_Hah?" Shinji asked, now in actual confusion. He hadn't expected anyone to be stupid enough to come to a conclusion like that, he didn't even really care if others knew he beat his sister, after all it was his given right to do so. But the way Kintaro was acting confused him, so all he could do was exclaim in surprise._

"_I'm saying I'll help if anything happens to her again, if I see her getting injured again, I'll personally help find the one who did it!" Kintaro said heatedly in return, accidentally letting out some of the anger he had been bottling up in front of the disgusting man before him. "I can't forgive anyone who would dare hurt someone as innocent and nice as your sister is, so I'm saying if anybody hurts her again, I assure you I'll hunt them down myself in your stead!"_

"…_Hunt them…down?" Shinji asked slowly, surprised, and now slightly fearful of the fervour he could hear in Kintaro's voice. After all, from his words, it didn't seem Kintaro realised it was he himself who beat Sakura, and assumed it was someone else, and now he was openly saying he would go after those who would hurt his sister, as if to reassure him. As if in answer to Shinji's words, he took a small 50 yen coin from his pocket._

_As he idly flipped the coin across his fingers, Kintaro slowly repeated "…Hunt…them…" At the last word, he flicked the coin high in the air. As if attracted to the coin, Shinji's eyes followed the object skyward, missing the subtle glow that gathered around Kintaro's hand momentarily before dispersing. _

_As the coin descended back through the air, Shinji watched as the arm of the man who wore dark shades before him snapped through the air at almost inhuman speeds, catching the coin from mid-air with a strange noise. 'Crunch?' Shinji thought in dumb shock as Kintaro suddenly smiled dangerously, opening his hand at the same time as he finally said "…down…"_

_Shinji almost shrieked as he saw the completely crushed coin lying on Kintaro's palm. However, in his shocked state, he only managed a quiet squeak of fear as Kintaro threw the coin away, clear over the safety fence surrounding the rooftop. Once more, that dangerously powerful arm rose, causing Shinji to flinch away in fear. However, Kintaro merely laid the hand on Shinji's shoulder reassuringly, smiling happily at the fear filled boy before him as he finished._

"_So don't worry Shinji, I'll protect her in your place."_

* * *

><p>'Man, I really got myself involved in the wrong situation when I did that…' Kintaro thought with a little remorse as he remembered what he did. His original plan when he had arrived at the school nearly two years ago had been to remain as simply an unknown, if eccentric, person in the school. But when he had realised what was going on between what should have been a pair of normal siblings, he couldn't hold back his anger, and had to intervene.<p>

It wasn't like it hadn't worked; he had yet to see Sakura cumulate any more suspicious injuries since that day, and it seemed the girls general mood around her brother's presence had got better, she wasn't seemingly trembling with fear at his sight, but she still seemed to act subservient and subdued in the older siblings presence. Most likely he still treated his younger sister badly, but it seemed in fear of whatever retribution Kintaro had promised upon those who lay a hand on Sakura, he had refrained from physical violence towards her.

But as if to compensate having won some limited freedom for the girl, Kintaro had earned the ire of the most influential male student in the entire school. Just as Tohsaka Rin was the idol of all the guys in the school, so Shinji was for all the girls. Of course, he had also impeded on that territory himself, the strange mysteriousness of the delinquent blonde who refused to follow the rules regarding his shades had spread like wildfire amongst the female population.

It didn't help that, in his own way, Kintaro could be considered very handsome. Although he often tried to remain out of attention, it was obvious in the way he moved and the tone of his body that he was incredibly strong and physically fit. Combined with his noticeable blonde locks, and his penchant for shades, and he was instantly a fad amongst the girls in the school to rival Matou Shinji himself. Combine that with the intimidation he had already inspired in Shinji, and nobody would dare challenge him in the school.

'What a pain…' regretted inwardly as the attention of all of the gathered female group now swung to him instead of the still crumpled student in the middle of the floor. The ratio was about 50/50 amongst the female group in the ranks of adoration at his presence to hatred at his presence in opposing Shinji.

Attention back now to Shinji who was still glaring at him with baleful eyes full of hatred, Kintaro smiled slightly in turn, spreading his hands in an open gesture as he said "It's just that, as an individual of such standing, isn't it important to show fairness? I mean, you're the standard everybody looks up to so they know how to act, unless you show good sportsmanship, then people may start to get a negative view of Archery as a whole, right? The underclassmen all look up to you as their model, so I'm sure it's fine to forgive and forget once in a while, right?"

The words seemed to slowly filter through Shinji's head, the anger in his eyes slowly being replaced with the usual condescending look he always had. 'As always, pandering to him being superior calms him down.' Kintaro thought sourly, wishing so much he could just deck the idiot instead, but with his sister merely a few steps away watching the whole situation with concern in her eyes, it was impossible for him.

"Can I punch him? I mean, if I just materialise for like half a second then dematerialise after, nobody's really going to notice, right?"

'And that's a second idiot I want to deck…' Kintaro thought once more, trying his best to ignore the voice that only he could hear from Lancer, even though he sorely wished he could let his servant do so.

Slowly, it seemed that Shinji managed to calm down, now an arrogant smirk across his face as he said "I guess you're right, it is up to those of higher standing to set the standards for the lower students, I guess I should thank you for reminding me." With these words, Shinji spun about on the spot, crossing his arms in an almost imperious stance, looking down at the still crumpled student as he said "Fine, it seems you have at least some luck, I'll forgive your impertinence this time, but this had better be the last time freshman!"

'Like the student actually did anything wrong.' Kintaro thought sourly as Shinji turned back once more, a now smug expression plastered over his features now he had asserted dominance for himself once more. As Shinji started to almost march away, his female entourage of students breaking away from crowding about the unlucky 1st year who was now being helped back up by Ayako, Kintaro heard an audible sigh of relief from the girl nearby.

"Thank you again for calming Nii-san down again, Senpai…" Sakura said softly as Kintaro turned to face the girl. Kintaro just shrugged as he replied "You shouldn't, it was about 50/50 between me pandering or just slugging him there and then, just luck I chose to calm him down with words instead."

However, this seemed to draw a small laugh from Sakura, before she smiled back up at him, replying "You wouldn't hurt Nii-san, you're too kind to do something like that." Kintaro couldn't help but redden slightly at the attention and the compliment from the younger Matou. However, the slight embarrassment was quickly brought back under control by dim realisation from the sniggers from his invisible Servant meaning he had just lost a decent amount of authority over him if he was declared to be kind hearted.

Brushing the thoughts aside, Kintaro quickly asked "Do you know what wound him up this time? While it's a given his bad moods are common, it's rare that he gets that badly wound up, he was even glaring daggers at me." However, Sakura shook her head slightly, her features downcast now as she quietly replied "I'm not sure, he didn't seem any different than usual when I saw him this morning."

"That probably makes it Tohsaka's fault then…" Kintaro said eventually, remembering who he had met by chance that morning. "Eh, Tohsaka-senpai?" Sakura asked in confusion. Kintaro nodded, replying "Out of all the girls in our school, she's the only one he has no sway over. Just about everybody else sees him as an idol, except her."

"Really? How come you know these things?" Sakura asked with tentative curiosity. Kintaro laughed at the bewilderment from Sakura, explaining "Because if that school idol Tohsaka started to show any interest in any guy in our school, the news would spread like wildfire and whoever it was would probably get lynched! Trust me, just about every guy in the school would know if Tohsaka showed any kind of interest in anybody, seeing as how they all idolize her. Far as I've heard, outside of apparently enjoying verbal battles with that Issei over student council issues, she has no interest in any guy in the school."

"Ho, so she's one of those picky, hard-to-please beau's then? Hah, give me a day and she'd be begging at my feet!" Lancer added in a confident tone. This time, Kintaro couldn't help but swing a fist through the air, hoping against hope he could actually hit the annoying guy who could not learn to shut up.

Fortunately, Sakura didn't seem to notice this angry exclamation from the Magus. On the other hand, neither Kintaro nor his Servant noticed as the supposedly innocent girls expression suddenly darkened for a second, although why they wouldn't have been able to figure out even if he had seen it. However, both parties managed to bring their unsavoury emotions under control at about the same time, as thus neither noticed the change in the other.

"Um, do you…look up to Tohsaka-senpai as well then, Senpai?" Sakura suddenly asked, surprising Kintaro with how forward the question had been.

"Oh, careful Master, you better-" Lancer suddenly spoke, instantly recognizing the leading question that the girl before them had asked, and trying to forewarn Kintaro to be careful with how he answered, but-.

"No."

"Eh?" Sakura blurted out softly in surprise, also accompanied by a louder, more vehement surprised "Eh?" from his Servant. Kintaro's retort had been blunt and precise, he hadn't even needed to think on the question before he answered, and as the girl looked at on his face, there was no sign of deceit or embarrassment across his features.

Kintaro shrugged lightly, before explaining "I don't really like her. Well, I say that, but it's not as simple as that, I don't like her façade is a bit more accurate."

Once again, Sakura could only blink in surprise and confusion as she looked up at the Magus; even Lancer was bemused with how the conversation was going.

"There's no such thing as a perfect person, we all have faults and the like, but accepting them and continuing is the best way in my opinion. When I see someone who just acts like they are perfect, it annoys me, as thus I cannot bring myself to like Tohsaka Rin as a person. I feel I can understand and get along better even with Shinji more than I can Tohsaka the School Idol, that's just how I am, no insult intended to either of them of course."

'Doesn't help she was eventually going to be my enemy so I couldn't afford to be friendly with her.' Kintaro added silently in his thoughts.

_In reality, it was impossible for any normal boy in school to not admire Tohsaka Rin. She had a mysterious quality to her that inadvertently drew your attention to her, and no matter what way he had checked, it wasn't purely by magic like __**Charm**__, it was perhaps a charismatic trait that she happened to inherit. It didn't help that she was beautiful as well, a shapely body, kept fit and well trained despite her lack of activity in front of others in school, beautiful long black hair, an undeniably attractive face, practically perfect. _

_Combined with her almost perfect attitude, perfect marks in class, perfect attendance and an air of natural supremacy that seemed to mark her out as being more than just normal than others, and it was impossible not to be drawn towards the beauty. In fact, any normal person could almost be considered to have something wrong with them if they weren't drawn in by her._

_Then again, Kintaro Sousuke never believed himself to be 'normal' anyway; he hadn't for years before he ever arrived in this country, before he ever met Tohsaka Rin. Kintaro Sousuke must win this war, that was the simple be all and end all of the situation; as such anything that will bar his way is an enemy._

_Kintaro Sousuke has no time to waste admiring an enemy; an enemy is something to be defeated, no more, no less._

_As such, he could say those words without a shred of doubt, he feels nothing for the School Idol, beyond the respect due to a dangerous enemy. As such, he can openly voice this opinion which no other can, for this is the true level of his thoughts towards Tohsaka Rin, he has no inhibition like affection to stop him, this is a pure and honest truth._

"I see…" Sakura quietly said in response to the declaration, her head now hung down. Unlike his Master, Lancer was still completely invisible and undetectable by others. As such, he took the opportunity to stoop down, bending his knees until he could look up and get a clear look at the young ladies face which had been hidden by the curtain of purple hair. When he did get a clear look, he couldn't help but break out in a sly grin, wishing he had been able to materialise long enough to give his Master a congratulatory slap on the back.

'Not bad, I was worried for a second that the kid had no hope with the way he described the other girl, but it seems this beauty has some kind of beef with the school idol, so that's plus points, not bad going, Sousuke!' Lancer congratulated mentally, unable to hide a small chuckle as he straightened back up, noticing the dark expression that once again clouded Kintaro's features, once again irked that his Servant was distracting him, even if it was just with a laugh.

However, this moment was broken up by a loud shout from nearby, Ayako loudly announcing that there was only a couple of minutes before they all had to head off for homeroom. "Tch, looks like we ran out of time to practice thanks to that stunt Shinji pulled…" Kintaro complained as he started off towards the table where he had left his bow.

Sakura seemed to pause for a minute behind him, having not heard his comment, seemingly distracted by something as she concentrated with a worried expression. Just as Kintaro grabbed his bow, intent to make sure it got put away in a good place in the bow rack, it seemed as though Sakura suddenly managed to remember something, disappearing into the area where the female members changed.

"Well, it's not like I really need to practice anything…"Kintaro muttered quietly to himself as he found an ideal spot, carefully storing the bow away before stepping back. Beside him, Lancer added "Well, it's always good to keep yourself in peak condition, right?"

Kintaro quickly grabbed his bag, before setting off towards the main building, not forgetting to wave a goodbye towards the Captain as he left, mentally thanking that Shinji seemed to have already left for classes and he wouldn't have to face him again until tomorrow. As he took a quick glance to see if anybody else was about, having spotted no one, he tucked his hands into his pockets as he set off towards the main building.

"Lancer, I swear to god, which part of keep silent while I am at school was so difficult for you to understand?" Kintaro muttered under his breath, barely making it loud enough for the Servant to hear.

Lancer could only laugh sheepishly as he replied "Well, sorry but I never did subservient very well, you're not the first guy to get pissed at me for not following orders to a *T*! And besides, like you have room to talk, Mr "Magic is not to be used in public", I'm sure you could have just stopped him without doing that!"

Kintaro could only splutter in response, quickly realising that he had instantly lost the argument. Indeed, he could have easily just stopped Shinji by interrupting before the student fired, but he had wanted to see the idiots face when the student succeeded.

"Not that I'm saying I didn't like seeing that guys jaw hit the floor." Lancer grudgingly said, unknowingly conceding with Kintaro's own intention by doing so. "How come that guy is such an arse anyhow? And he's the older brother of that cute girl? I'm not believing that for one second!"

Kintaro just shrugged, quietly muttering "It would take too long to explain right now, ask me another time, I've got to get to homeroom before Soichirou-sensei or he'll chew me out for being late. 2-C always has it easy because Fujimura-sensei is never on time."

"…you know, you have a bad habit of spouting names I have no hope of recognising…" Lancer quietly muttered as he followed.

"But you know speaking of that cute girl, for a guy who said he's got nothing going on with the lasses in school, your pretty close to that Sakura girl, aren't ya?" Lancer suddenly added, almost causing Kintaro to trip in surprise as his head turned at breakneck speeds, shouting "What the hell!"

"Whoa, whoa Master, talking to an invisible guy, remember!" Lancer quickly interjected as Kintaro's face turned bright red, not just at embarrassment from what Lancer said, but embarrassment that he had accidentally shouted in the middle of the courtyard. Once again, Kintaro could only growl at the Servant as he now quietly resumed "It's nothing like that!"

"Really?" Lancer asked in a suspicious voice, not letting Kintaro object as he obviously doubted his words. "So you're telling me you have absolutely no attraction to that pretty little face? No interest in that lovely body of hers?" Lancer quietly teased, causing Kintaro's face to redden even more, once again trying to deny the images his mind brought forth at the Servant's words. "N-No, like I said, i-it's not like-!"

"Not very convincing when you're stuttering like that with a red face Master! I was kind of concerned for a second with what you said about the other beauty, "What if my Master really has no interest in women?" Yep, I was very concerned for a second, but seeing how you get along with your cute little Kouhei, I can understand now." Lancer said in an attempt at a wise voice, nodding sagely even though he couldn't be seen by his Master.

"For fuck's sake Lancer, it's nothing like that!" Kintaro hissed as he started to march away at a much faster pace. "Ah you swore, Master! Temper, temper, you just make yourself more suspicious when you act that way! Why deny your interest in the lass anyhow? She's pretty and attractive, and that's coming from a person who has now lived in two eras of this world's history giving you his personal opinion!"

"Lancer, do you want me to use the Command Spell on you?" Kintaro said darkly as he continued his march, but he received no reply. Lancer had heard footsteps behind them; somebody was following them, although when he saw who, his face cracked into an even greater grin than before.

"Not that I'm asking for you to use them, but can I just say that the topic of our conversation seems to be chasing after you?" Lancer replied casually, surprising the Magus. Hoping to every god above his Servant was just joking; Kintaro hesitantly cast a glance over his shoulder.

'Brilliant, just brilliant, good going Lancer!' Kintaro inwardly cursed, trying to regain his composure desperately as he slowed to a stop. Sure enough, after a few seconds an out of breath girl finally managed to catch up with him.

Trying to keep his cool, Kintaro turned about with a smile, asking "Hey Sakura, did I forget something at the Archery club?" As Sakura took a second to catch her breath from having ran after him, Kintaro had to quickly divert his eyes, cursing his Servant with just about every bad word he could think of in that one instant, his face reddening once more as thanks to Lancer's words, he couldn't help but notice her deep breathing was making her well-endowed chest rise and fall pronouncedly, her face flushed slightly from the exertion giving her features a strangely enchanting look to Kintaro's eyes, her heavy yet soft breathing strangely arousing-

'FUCKFUCKFUCK I am going to fucking dismiss this goddamn fucking Servant the moment I get home!' Kintaro inwardly cursed over and over, trying to hide his blazing red features with his black glove and interrupt his spiralling chain of thought at the same time. Nearby, Lancer was having to do the same with his hand, except he was clamping his mouth to try and force back the laughter, clenching his side with the opposite arm as tightly as he could.

However, much to Kintaro's despair, Sakura managed to recover faster than he did, looking up at him first with a smile as she was about to say something, but then froze, her eyes blinking in surprise as she saw the condition of his features, before she hesitantly asked "Senpai, is something wrong? You don't look too well…"

"No, it's nothing, it's just…er…it was colder out than I expected, I'm not very good with the cold!" Kintaro quickly said as an excuse, still trying to hide his face with his left hand, vaguely waving his right in a dismissive gesture, as if to lamely try and reassure the girl. Lancer nearly hit the deck with the effort he was having to put into keeping silent.

"Really? I didn't think it was all that cold…" Sakura said unsurely as Kintaro quickly realised his mistake. Indeed, the sun was shining strongly into the courtyard as if to deny his accusation. It wasn't that the air was warm, but there was no way a person could claim it was cold enough to cause the body reaction required for blood to rush to warm the body, and even if it was, the spectacular crimson Kintaro's face was now shining was beyond that simple explanation.

"A-Anyhow, like I said, did I leave something behind for you to be chasing after me?" Kintaro quickly asked, trying to hide his blunder. Sakura seemed to snap back to attention, shaking her head as she replied "No, I don't think you did."

As she said this, it seemed she remembered what it was she chased him for as she reached into her schoolbag.

'Oh? Don't tell me that's what I think it is!' Lancer thought, half with surprise, half with amusement as he caught sight of the small bundle wrapped in cloth that emerged from the girls bag. In preparation for coming to this world, a lot of rather useless information had been placed in Lancer's head, but since his master was specifically of the age where they would be expected to attend school, he had additional information regarding general activities and things that were done between high school kids in Japan.

Now he was suspicious that he may have just gotten sight of perhaps the only one that had potentially sounded interesting to him, along with the knowledge of the age of consent amongst the nowadays society.

In Kintaro's mind, he was struck with a whirlwind of thoughts as he stared at the object Sakura had drawn from her bag. Before he had summoned Lancer, this hadn't been an unusual activity. If there was something he had learnt about Sakura, it was that she had an interest in cooking. More than once, she had asked him about cooking from countries outside of Japan, and he had willingly obliged, telling her what he knew from his home country.

As a result, more than once he had ended up as a tester for the food she had made, and while at first it had been a very unpleasant experience as she tried and failed to successfully repeat what he had taught her (a secret he fully intended to take to the grave rather than admit to the at-the-time hopeful look of the young girl), eventually she had improved dramatically. He wasn't sure when, but somewhere along the line he had ended up receiving Bento's from the girl at random times whenever she had ended up making too much food for just herself and (assumedly) her brother.

He had accepted this gracefully and thankfully, after all they were markedly better than the food he would usually be able to get from the schools canteen, and after the first few failed attempts, the guys in his class had eventually given up on trying to steal half of the boxes contents for themselves. However, now not only did Lancer just gain a valuable weapon in his solo war of attrition against his own Master, but Lancer's words were causing his mind to assume a different take on this usual situation.

Oblivious to the ruminations of not only Kintaro, but of the invisible Servant who was desperately trying to support his body off the nearby wall of the school, Sakura smiled as she offered the box in her hands to Kintaro, innocently saying "Here, I ended up making too much food this morning, so I put some of the side dishes into Bento's, but since there was still some left over, I made one for you too Senpai. I was going to give it to you earlier, but I forgot it after what happened with Nii-san."

"O-Oh really? Thanks Sakura, sorry for the trouble!" Kintaro quickly gabbled out to Sakura's surprise, still slightly confused as to how come the elder student was acting strangely. However, she eventually returned to her warm smile, replying "It's no trouble at all Senpai, it's the least I can do for you being friends with Nii-san and I, I know Nii-san can at times be a bit hard to get along with, but I really am grateful that you do."

With the mention of Shinji, Kintaro was finally able to get his roiling emotions back under control. Now that he was finally able to see face to face with Sakura, he asked "Has Shinji been causing you any more hassle lately? I mean, I saw how he just was now, so it's just troubling me a bit."

"Huh? Oh no, not really, he's actually been getting better at home recently, this is the first time I've seen him that badly wound up in quite a while." Sakura insisted, as if in her brother's defence. Kintaro hoped he could believe the words, he knew Shinji was, at the very least, unstable. However, as far as he had seen so far from the lack of any new marks on Sakura, it seemed his scare tactic had actually worked on Shinji, and judging from the way Sakura still happily greeted him, Shinji must have been too frightened to tell her that he had in a way threatened him.

"Well, if you start having any concerns about him, just tell me, I'll try to help in any way I can!" Kintaro said reassuringly, accepting the box from Sakura with a smile. Sakura also smiled in turn, turning towards the school building as she replied back "Okay, I'll be relying on you!" (5)

As the girl started to make her way back to the building, a voice from mid-air asked seriously "What was that all about with her brother? It sobered you up right away."

However, Kintaro just shook his head, before saying "I'll explain later, right now its class time, lectures won't end until around 12:20, so you're free to do what you want until then."

Lancer instantly perked up at hearing this, eagerly asking "You're serious? Anything I want?"

"Except getting into any unwanted battles, try to keep a low profile until the war is officially started." Kintaro replied, although a niggling thought in the back of his head told him this wasn't a very good idea at all, he also knew it was only going to cause havoc if he kept Lancer with him in class for four hours.

"As you wish, Master!" Lancer replied eagerly, before vanishing in turn, already out of the school gate before Kintaro could even blink.

'I have a feeling I'm really going to wish I hadn't done that…' Kintaro thought dismally as he turned back to the school building, running towards the door's as he heard the first bells ring.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's chapter over! Man, that took a lot of work from me, I think i'm starting to lose my initial enthusiasm with this story, I hate it when this happens. I get a decent plot started out, write up a few chapters, then *SMASH* writer's cramp comes down on me like the proverbial cockblock of fanfic. I'm going to try and keep this up if theres any real enthusiasm in this story, but I think i'll hate it if it ends up liked my Bleach story, which after nearly 3 years has only got about 20 regular readers (how in hell can a story 400,000 long with originally constant upload of chapters only recieve ~20 readers? Is my storywriting that bad?) I'm starting to think unless you have porn in the story, nobody gives a damn about an M classified story.<strong>

**On that note, if I do keep it up, then yes, there will be lemons in this plot, reason being simply that I have to keep with the VN spirit since i'm using VN plot, and the Nasuverse endorses porn, so lemons there will be! As of the moment, planned ones include the dream from HF but with a different take (including Rider getting busted halfway through), obviously Sakura/Kintaro, i'm even thinking of doing Lancer/Rider simply to keep true to my Hero's antics. Again, it's all in the future right now, I have to get through the next couple of days**

**IMPORTANT**

**Due to being simply bored, I am thinking of skipping Day 2, which has absolutley no real importance at all plotwise. I do have a potential plot piece I can do uniquely for Day 2, but right now i'm not sure whether to bother or not, if you guys want to see the whole thing, then i'll do it, but if you want to see the action sooner, then i'll skip it. Please let me know of the opinion either way!**

**As usual, please review and give feedback! The story improves the more I know what works better, and as of right now, I only have one person willing to give me regular advice, but more is always appreciated! Even though I have been at it a while, I still don't claim to be very good at FF writing, so additional help is always welcome, be it advice or constructive criticism!**

**Anyhow, seeya all next time!**

**(1) Completely true, Rider's eyes are unable to petrify a Servant with B class magical resistance, only lower their abilities fractionally, and even then Dark Saber (who has B class due to it being lowered by the effects of Sakura as her master) was able to break its effect after only a few minutes. Archer only had D level resistance, which is less than even Rin, who was able to resist petrification longer than Archer did in HF.**

**(2) Lancer, Caster, Assasin and Berserker according to my storyline. In my storyline, Rider has yet to be summoned, so as such her presence cannot be detected, she isn't summoned until Late Day 2 or Early Day 3. Archer is summoned Early Day 2 (at 2:00am), while Saber is summoned Late Day 3. Saber will still be summoned on The Fated Night, but of course the situation will be different.**

**(3) All this is just his opinion and conclusions by the way, in no way is this correct according to plot.**

**(4) Oh, for the anime only guys, moments before in the VN storyline, Shinji had bumped into Rin outside the range, and mistaken her interest in coming there as interest in him. Of course, he got coldly rebuked, but part way through the conversation, Shinji referred to himself as the Captain, and Rin corrected him, saying that if he put so much stress on forgetting to say Vice- to his title, then it would give off an aura of being incredibly egotistical.**

**(5) Gah, there is a particular phrase in Japanese which can be used** in this situation, but it doesn't translate well into English, sorry!


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